Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Athens at the Church of the Wisdom of God in the AEK Stadium

On Friday afternoon, 22 November 2024, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece visited the Church of the Wisdom of God at the AEK-OPAP Arena.

The Ecumenical Patriarch began an official visit to Athens on Friday, at the invitation of Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia, Philadelphia, Heraklion, and Chalcedon, to attend the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the local Metropolis.

The Ecumenical Patriarch and the Archbishop were then guided through the Museum of Refugee Hellenism, the AEK Museum, and the stadium facilities.

Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia, Hierarchs from the Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, politicians, AEK Athens F.C. owner Mr Marios Iliopoulos, former owner Mr Dimitris Melissanidis, as well as clergy and laity, were present.

The Protosyncellus of the Archdiocese, Archimandrite Varnavas Theocharis, and Protopresbyter Emmanuel Papamikroulis, Secretary of the Synodal Committee on Inter-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Relations, accompanied the Archbishop of Athens.

Earlier, the Ecumenical Patriarch attended the naming ceremony of Patriarch’s Square and the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in Nea Philadelphia. Immediately afterward, he visited the Holy Trinity Church of Nea Philadelphia and performed the Inauguration Service of the new church dedicated to the Archangel Michael, in memory of the late Michael Katsouris, located in the church’s courtyard.

Photos: Christos Bonis / Church of Greece

Source: orthodoxtimes.com