The Greek government expressed its condolences for the death of a great philhellene, US Senator Paul Sarbanes who passed away at the age of 87.
“It was with deep sadness that we were informed concerning the passing of former U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes, who was a prominent member of the Greek American community for many decades.
"Paul Sarbanes, during his long service in the US Congress, first as a Representative and later as a Senator, served his homeland valiantly and with self-sacrifice. At the same time, he championed major initiatives for promoting the values and positions of global Hellenism. Salient among the causes he championed was the imposition of a U.S. arms embargo on Turkey following the invasion of Cyprus.
"We express our deep condolences to his loved ones,” read the statement issued by the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday.
He helped write a landmark anti-fraud legislation and draft the first article of impeachment against Republican President Richard Nixon as a congressman.
The former Senator “passed away peacefully this evening in Baltimore,” said a Sunday statement by Rep. John Sarbanes, who represents Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District.
The falling asleep in the Lord of Senator Paul Sarbanes is a profound moment in the consciousness of our Holy Archdiocese, which marks the passing of a true giant of the Omogeneia and the Nation. There are so many who have stood on his shoulders and seen farther and clearer than they could have ever imagined. Paul Sarbanes was the proud son of immigrants from Greece, whose vision for the future found a sweeping panorama of the American dream in their son, who went on an exceptional educational journey from Princeton, to Oxford, to Harvard, and whose trajectory was a life of exemplary and extraordinary public service.
It is very difficult to speak of Senator Sarbanes’ accomplishments, as they are virtually numberless; but through them all, he was a devoted husband and father, a devout Orthodox Christian, a faithful member of the Church, and a prudent, humble, and diligent servant of the People of his beloved Maryland and the American Nation.
His devotion to the freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and his concern for his ancestral home of Greece, as well as for Cyprus, merit special praise. He kept a close eye on affairs across the Atlantic, being ever-vigilant for the interests of his brethren in Faith and Patrida, even as he dedicated his tireless efforts in the halls of Congress for the betterment of all his fellow human beings.
We are all better people for his life and his enormous contributions to our world. As his children and grandchildren mourn his passing, we offer them our heartfelt consolations on behalf of the entire Greek Orthodox Church of America, joining with them in prayer and in thankfulness for a life so very well lived, which was such a precious gift to them and to us all. May his memory be eternal.