Explanations for his presence at the inauguration of the Turkish Centre in New York, which were attended by the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the TRNC President, Ersin Tatar, are given by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
In the wake of the reactions both in the Greek and Cypriot Diaspora, but also in the Armenian community – with the organization ANCA responding with a particularly harsh announcement – culminating in the cancellation of the meeting with Aouth Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, in a sign of dissatisfaction, circles of the Archdiocese point out that Mr. Elpidophoros is talking and will be talking with officials of Turkey, like any other country, in the context of its effort to support the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Ecumenical Orthodoxy, world and regional peace and interreligious dialogue.
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As they characteristically point out, he will take every opportunity given to him to support with vigour to his interlocutors from all over the world – and especially turkey – the institution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the opening of the Theological School of Halki, the rights of the Greek Orthodox minority and the just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem, based on the resolutions of the United Nations.
It is noted that, during his presence at the inauguration of the Turkish Center, the Archbishop of America reiterated the request for the reopening of the Theological School of Halki, while he sent a message about the religious freedom of minorities in Turkey.
“I congratulate President Erdogan on the inauguration of the Turkish Centre, (which he did) together with Secretary General Guterres. As always, I insist on the importance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the reopening of the Theological School of Halki and the support of the rights of Turkey’s religious minorities”, he said in a post on Twitter.
As the same circles point out, this is in this context in his participation in the inauguration event of the building of turkey’s Permanent Representation to the UN, in which the UN Secretary-General also participated.
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I congratulated Pres. Erdogan on the opening of the Turkevi Center, together with UN SG Guterres. As always I insist on the importance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the re-opening of the Halki Theological School, and supporting the rights of religious minorities of Turkey.
— Elpidophoros (@Elpidophoros) September 20, 2021
The meetings with Mitsotakis – Anastasiades
The issue has taken on wider dimensions, as Mr. Elpidophoros had not informed about his intention to be present at an event, which, among other symbolisms, included the legalization of the participation of the head of the TRNC.
For this reason, in a sign of disapproval, Nicos Anastasiades canceled their scheduled meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The meeting was scheduled for 11:00 on Wednesday, at the headquarters of the Archdiocese of America, with the Greek Cypriot president finally citing his “busy schedule” to cancel.
“I can’t meet him when a day before he was at a fiesta with the head of the occupying forces,” Nicos Anastasiades allegedly told his associates.
Despite initial information that the same “path” was followed by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who arrives in New York in the afternoon, this did not happen. So his meeting with the Archbishop of America will take place on Friday.
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According to reports, the Prime Minister will visit “Ground Zero”, the place where the September 11 attacks took place, and then will be guided by the Archbishop to the Church of St. Nicholas, which recently reopened its gates.
“The Turkevi Center symbolizes our belief in the United Nations, multilateralism, justice and peace” https://t.co/kx98WKVPcI pic.twitter.com/KHEspUdifF
— Turkish Presidency (@trpresidency) September 20, 2021
