Athens, 13-15 January 2025. Official visit of the President of the IAO General Assembly to the Hellenic Parliament and the IAO seat



Athens, 13-15 January 2025. Official visit of the President of the IAO General Assembly to the Hellenic Parliament and the IAO seat

On 13-15 January 2025, the first official visit of the member of the Romanian Parliament, Mr. Ioan Vulpescu, in his capacity as President of the General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), took place at the IAO seat in Athens.

The newly elected President of the General Assembly of the international institution was welcomed by the Greek parliamentary delegation to the IAO, led by the IAO Secretary General, Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, with the participation of the Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Ioannis Sarakiotis, and the Member of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Charis Mamoulakis, as well as the IAO Advisor, Dr. Kostas Mygdalis.

Athens, 13-15 January 2025. Official visit of the President of the IAO General Assembly to the Hellenic Parliament and the IAO seat

During his stay in Athens, Mr. Ioan Vulpescu, accompanied by the head of the IAO, met with the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, Mr. Konstantinos Tasoulas. At the meeting, the IAO Secretary General thanked Mr. Tasoulas for the long-standing support of the Hellenic Parliament for the work of the IAO, and in particular for the diverse actions of recent years. Mr. Vulpescu informed the Speaker that the next meeting of the IAO General Assembly will be held in Bucharest, on the occasion of the double anniversary of the 140th anniversary of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Romania and the 100th anniversary of its elevation to Patriarchate, while he extended an honorary invitation to him. For his part, Mr. Tasoulas congratulated the IAO leadership for its work and emphasized that Orthodoxy, with its social, historical and spiritual significance, constitutes a common historical cultural tradition and religious expression for approximately half of the population of Europe, while also highlighting the need for Orthodoxy’s presence in the shaping of modern Europe.

Athens, 13-15 January 2025. Official visit of the President of the IAO General Assembly to the Hellenic Parliament and the IAO seat

Athens, 13-15 January 2025. Official visit of the President of the IAO General Assembly to the Hellenic Parliament and the IAO seat

In addition, the IAO leadership had the opportunity to meet with the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Mr. Ieronymos, to whom they expressed their gratitude for the trust with which the Church of Greece surrounds the initiatives of the interparliamentary institution, especially in critical periods, when the Christians of the Middle East are threatened with extinction and important monuments of universal Orthodoxy, such as Hagia Sophia Church in Constantinople and Christian monuments of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, are in danger. The Archbishop praised the work of the IAO and assured that the Church of Greece, to the best of its ability, will continue to support the important initiatives undertaken by the institution of Orthodox parliamentarians.

Athens, 13-15 January 2025. Official visit of the President of the IAO General Assembly to the Hellenic Parliament and the IAO seat

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