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His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America paid his first official visit to the new United States Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, on Wednesday afternoon.
Ambassador Guilfoyle received the Archbishop at Jefferson House, the residence that serves as the official home and reception venue of the American envoy to Athens. For 1 hour and 45 minutes, they spoke about the renewed hopes for the reopening of the Holy Theological School of Halki, the recent 1,700th-anniversary celebrations of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Although they had met before in Washington, this was their first encounter since Ambassador Guilfoyle formally assumed her post and presented her credentials in Athens on Nov. 4.
Archbishop Elpidophoros expressed his hopes for a successful conclusion of the renewed efforts to reopen the Halki seminary, shuttered by Turkish authorities since 1971.
His Eminence described Halki as indispensable to the life of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and stressed that, if reopened, the school would once again form generations of clergy “steeped in an ethos of freedom, inclusiveness, tolerance and dialogue” – not only for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but for the wider Orthodox and Christian world. He underlined that this is also a matter of concern for the United States, which has repeatedly tied support for the seminary to broader commitments on religious liberty.
The conversation also turned to the recent ecumenical celebrations marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, highlighted by the prayers of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV in Iznik (ancient Nicaea) and their gathering at the Phanar for Great Vespers and the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Church of St. George, at the conclusion of which they signed a joint declaration.
Ambassador Guilfoyle congratulated Archbishop Elpidophoros on his recent naturalization as an American citizen, which took place in New York on Nov. 10. The Archbishop, replied that receiving U.S. citizenship was both a personal joy and a pastoral responsibility. Echoing a message he shared with the faithful last month, he said that this solemn moment filled his heart with joy and renewed purpose, and that American citizenship would help him serve both the Church and the wider society of his adopted country with even greater dedication.
Ambassador Guilfoyle, in turn, voiced appreciation for the warmth with which she has been received in Greece and reaffirmed her commitment to work tirelessly for the benefit of both the United States and Greece. His Eminence expressed his sincere conviction that Ambassador Guilfoyle’s evident enthusiasm for her new post would translate into a fruitful and constructive ambassadorship, particularly at a time when U.S.-Greek relations are full of opportunity.
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