NEW YORK – Stefanos Kasselakis, the president of Greece’s official opposition SYRIZA party, re-iterated his support for the person and work of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America immediately after their meeting June 25 at the offices of the Archdiocese of America.

Kasselakis arrived at the Archdiocese shortly after 10 in the morning, where he was welcomed by the Director of Communications, Stratos Safioleas, Fr. Grigorios Stamkopoulos, and Fr. Gedeon Varitimos. Kasselakis went up to the third floor, where he was warmly received by Archbishop Elpidophoros before their meeting began, which lasted about 45 minutes.

Immediately after the meeting, Kasselakis, in his statements, spoke warmly about Elpidophoros. He said that, “it is always an honor for me, when I am in New York, the city where I have lived for ten years of my life in America, to meet His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, a person who cares very much about the Greek Diaspora, the Community, the modernization of the Church, and the relationship with the youth. It is always my honor to be here, to enrich my thoughts with his wisdom, and I believe it is institutionally correct for the leader of the official opposition, in every visit, to be here and to support institutionally, from Greece, both the Greek Diaspora and the Archdiocese, as much as we can.”

It should be noted that Kasselakis, whose visit to the U.S. is private and was not undertaken in any official capacity, left the Archdiocese without making any further statements.