His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, is paying a courtesy visit to the of Greece from 7th December 2009.
The Patriarch, who is being accompanied by Their Eminences Elder Metropolitan Petros of Aksum, his representative in Athens, Metropolitan Jonah of Kampala, Metropolitan Nicholas of Ermopolis, Metropolitan George of Zimbabwe, His grace Gennadios of Nilopolis Secretary of the Holy Synod and Archimandrite Panteleimon Arathymos Director of the Patriarch’s Private Office, was met at the Athens International Airport by His Beatitude Ieronymos, Archbishop of Athens of All Greece, His Eminence Nicholas Metropolitan of Mesogaia and Lavreotikis, Metropolitan Panteleimon of Veroia and Naousa, Archimandrite Kyrillos Misiakoulis Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, Synodal Secretaries, His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Education Mr. Panaretos, His Excellency the Ambassador of Egypt in Greece, the Director of Religious and Ecclesiastical Matters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Christodoulos Lazaris, the Director of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mrs. Aikaterini Boura, the Megas Archon Logothetis of the Church of Alexandria Mr. Spyridon Kamalakis, the Chairman of the Brotherhood of Office Bearers “Apostle Mark” Professor Theodoros Panagopoulos, et.al.
On his arrival His Beatitude declared that he is not paying a formal visit to the Apostolic Church of Greece, but he is paying a pilgrimage to the land of his birth, wishing to express his grateful thanks for all that this land has given for the success and productivity of the missionary effort of Orthodoxy in Africa.
In a change in the programme, resulting from demonstrations in the centre of Athens, where a doxology was to be held in the Holy Church of St Dionysios in Athens and a visit to the Archdiocese of Athens, an official dinner was hosted in honour of the Patriarch by His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece in a restaurant near the Acropolis.
