ATHENS – President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos on Sunday received the Archbishop of Australia Makarios at the presidential mansion and congratulated him on his enthronement, wishing him every success in his new role at the helm of the Archdiocese of Australia.

“Above all your mission concerns the support of the Archdiocese of Australia and the great and so creative Greek community there. Secondly, the support of the Patriarchate itself in these critical times, something that is very important for all Orthodoxy,” Pavlopoulos said.

He also praised the Archbishop’s many accomplishments, especially his deep knowledge of Bioethics, noting that cloning had been the subject of his postgraduate thesis from the University of Crete Medical School.

Archbishop Makarios thanked the president and said that he was keenly aware that his role as Australia’s archbishop was “not just religious but also national,” while also stating his intention to connect Australia’s Greek community with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and “keep its spirit alive throughout the continent”.

He also asked the president to “make every effort” for the reopening of the School of Theology on Halki, extracting the president’s promise to do his utmost in this direction, and to enlist the help of the European Union in support of this cause.

“The great importance of Orthodoxy for the support of fundamental principles and values in our time goes beyond the faithful…. This must be understood by the EU, by our great European family. All together we will fight for this just demand….which must also be a European demand, a demand of our culture itself,” Pavlopoulos replied.

President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos receives the Archbishop of Australia Makarios at the presidential mansion in Athens, June 2, 2019. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yorgos Kontarinis)

President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos receives the Archbishop of Australia Makarios at the presidential mansion in Athens, June 2, 2019. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yorgos Kontarinis)

President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos receives the Archbishop of Australia Makarios at the presidential mansion in Athens, June 2, 2019. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yorgos Kontarinis)

President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopios Pavlopoulos receives the Archbishop of Australia Makarios at the presidential mansion in Athens, June 2, 2019. (Photo by Eurokinissi/Yorgos Kontarinis)