30TH ASSEMBLY | CHALKIDIKI, GREECE | JUNE 29 – JULY 3, 2023

Chalkidiki, June 29 - July 3, 2023. 30 years of I.A.O.: “Facing new challenges. Before new perspectives”»

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30 years of I.A.O.: “Facing new challenges. Before new perspectives”.

The 30th anniversary General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (I.A.O.) was concluded with a pilgrimage visit to the Holy Convent of Annunciation in Ormylia and visit to the Center “Panagia Philanthropini”.

Representatives from 19 Parliaments, ie. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia Greece, Hungary, Iran, Jordan, North Macedonia, Palestine, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Sudan and Uganda, as well as representatives of International institutions and academics participated to the works of the General Assembly.

Chalkidiki, June 29 - July 3, 2023. 30 years of I.A.O.: “Facing new challenges. Before new perspectives”»

The Deputy Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. Athanasios Bouras, declared the opening of the works of the General Assemby, conveying warm greetings on behalf of the President of the Hellenic Parliament Mr. Konstantinos Tasoulas. Representatives of institutions and local authorities presented greeting addresses. Greeting messages were read by the representatives of His All Holiness The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa. Moreover, the Very Reverend Archimandrite Elissaios, Abbot of the Holy Monastery of Simonos Petras and the Dean of the School of Theology of the Aristotle University Mr. Chrysostomos Stamoulis presented greeting addresses.

At the end of the Inaugural Ceremony, the Secretary General offered to special guests numbered replicas of the Holy Sepulcher copperplate, printed especially for the 30th anniversary I.A.O. General Assembly.

The works of the General Assembly opened with discussion on the special thematic session: “The role of Christian values in Europe and the world. Convergences and divergences”.

Following the detailed briefing on the course of the dialogue for the “Future of Europe” by the I.A.O. Advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis, reports were presented on the thematic session by the participants – members of Parliaments and academics.

On the sidelines of the General Assembly, the I.A.O. Secretary General had bilateral meetings with the representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) Mr. Hadzi Milorad Stosic, as well as with the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) Mr. Asaf Hajiyev.

Elections of the I.A.O. organs were realized during the works. Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, member of the Hellenic Parliament was re-elected head and Secretary General of the I.A.O. Following the proposal of the Secretary General, new elected President of the General Assembly of the organisation, is the Member of the Parliament of Poland (Sejm) Mr. Eugeniusz Czykwin, who replaces the former President, member of the Russian State Duma Mr. Sergei Gavrilov. Mr. Ioannis Sarakiotis has been elected alternate Secretary General. The composition of the I.A.O. International Secretariat is Ioan Vulpescu (Romania), Radomir Tcholakov (Bulgaria), Panicos Leonidou (Cyprus), Aleksey Chepa (Russia), Dirar Aldaoud (Jordan), Sisak Gabrielyan (Armenia).

Chalkidiki, June 29 - July 3, 2023. 30 years of I.A.O.: “Facing new challenges. Before new perspectives”»

The composition of the Financial Committee is Arthanasios Davakis (Greece), Ilias Myrianthous (Cyprus), Hrachya Hakobyan (Armenia). The Secretary General, after the overview of the I.A.O. activities, proposed the next General Assembly to be revisionary, in order to enable a more efficient operation of the international institution.

To this end, he proposed the establishment of a Committee for the amendment of the Regulation, composed as follows: Chairperson: Panicos Leonidou (Cyprus), Members: Athanasios Davakis (Greece), Alexandr Cotric (Serbia), Mile Talevski (North Macedonia), Irakli Kadagishvili (Georgia), Elias Bou Saab (Lebanon).

The mandate of the I.A.O. advisors was renewed: Dr. Kostas Mygdalis, Dr. Alexandr Fomenko.

The works of the I.A.O. anniversary General Assembly were concluded with a special event for the institution’s 30-year course, during which, in a particularly moving atmosphere, speeches were presented by representatives of the Church and the academic community who were present at the founding Assembly that took place in Ormylia, Halkidiki, in 1993.

30TH ASSEMBLY | CHALKIDIKI, GREECE | JUNE 29 – JULY 3, 2023

Following the suggestion of the I.A.O. Secretary General, the Assembly adopted a relevant declaration.


pdf30    Chalkidiki 1 July 2023. Declaration 30 years of I.A.O.: “Facing new challenges. Before new perspectives”.


pdf30    Attached, please find the declaration text in Arabic language : Chalkidiki 1 July 2023. Declaration 30 years of I.A.O.: “Facing new challenges. Before new perspectives”.


    I.A.O. Organs. 30th anniversary General Assembly. 30 June 2023


  Videos of the 30th General Assembly of I.A.O.


photocamera30    Photo gallery. Chalkidiki, June 29 – July 3, 2023. 30 years of I.A.O.: “Facing new challenges. Before new perspectives”»

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