US Vice President Joe Biden in Athens. Who's Next? President Obama Maybe?

Joe Biden - Vice President - USA

Photo Source: Wikipedia

Yesterday, US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Athens after  visiting Turkey, where he  attended an international conference on entrepreneurship.

Of great significance we believe is his two hour visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate which included a one hour meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew, stressing the importance the US government puts on the issue of religious freedoms in Turkey.

Greek-American relations, issues of Greek interest such as the Cyprus problem, the naming issue of FYROM, religious freedom and the Ecumenical Patriarchate are on the agenda of Biden's discussions in Athens, as well as the  dire economic crisis and problems in the wider region.
 

VP Biden was met at the airport by Deputy Prime Minister of Greece Theodoros Pangalos and today will be received by the President of the Republic, Karolos Papoulias. He will also meet separately with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, PASOK leader and former PM George Papandreou, and New Democracy (ND) leader Antonis Samaras.

VP Biden's wife, Jill, also visited Greece for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics held in Athens earlier this year.

It is interesting to note that first, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Athens in July this year, now Vice President Biden visits. 

At this rate, maybe Greece should start making plans for a visit by President Obama himself in the summer...   

Source: AMNA

Welcoming US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Greece - 17 and 18 July 2011

We welcome US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to Athens today, the start of her official visit to Greece, and wish her every success.

As the First Lady of the USA Hillary Clinton has been to Greece several times but this is her first as Secretary of State, and comes at a critical moment in Greece's recent history.

Greece's economic crisis dominates every discussion at the moment but there are several issues which remain of great concern and which need resolution, so we are taking this opportunity to endorse the letter  the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) sent to  Secretary Clinton prior to her travel to Turkey and Greece, released on  July 12, 2011. 

The American Hellenic Institute is a Washington based, non-profit Greek American public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community regularly taking significant initiatives to enhance the bilateral relationship.

The letter written by AHI President and COO, Nick Larigakis, raises issues of great concern to the Greek American community (and to the Global Greek Community, we would add) :

issues that exist in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean and which are problematic in the context of the Greek American relationship;

issues which are based within the universally accepted principles of the rule of law and international law, including U.S. laws;

issues which include Turkey's Occupation of Cyprus, the suppression of religious freedom and violation of the minority communities, as well as FYROM's continuing intransigence and irredentism which makes resolution of the name issue a near impossibility...

 The first page of AHI's 9 page letter to Secretary Clinton

 To read the rest of the letter, download AHI’s letter to Secretary Clinton, here

We were pleased to see that Secretary Clinton's schedule included a visit to the Patriarchate in Istanbul (Constantinople). Photos below are from an independent blog on Hillary Clinton http://secretaryclinton.wordpress.com/

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

at The Patriarchate, Fanari, July 16, 2011.

REUTERS/Ahmet Dumanli/Anatolian

Don't Miss Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's Interview Rescreening on CBS' 60 Minutes Tonight at 7pm!

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the leader of the 300 million-member Orthodox Christian Church, feels "crucified" living in Turkey under a government he says would like to see his nearly 2,000-year-old Patriarchate die out...

Tonight, Sunday, August 8 at 7 p.m. CBS will be repeating the 60 Minutes programme on Orthodox Christianity featuring His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians who constitute the second largest Christian church in the world, which first aired on Sunday, December 20, 2009. 

The segment focuses on the Orthodox Church, the most ancient Christian church, and its development from its earliest years to modern times in what is now the Republic of Turkey.

The Ecumenical Patriarch is in a unique position as a Christian leader in a Muslim environment. His All Holiness is the 270th successor to the see of St. Andrew the Apostle, who founded the 2000-year-old church of Constantinople (ancient Byzantium, modern Istanbul).  Despite hostility from some elements of Turkish society, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been an outspoken supporter of Turkey’s modernization and acceptance into the European Union.  He has also worked for reconciliation among Christian churches and cooperation among Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and indeed all faith communities.

His All Holiness brought about Muslim leaders’ first condemnation of the 9/11 attacks on America as anti-religious acts. He was named 11th among the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine and was awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal for his efforts to promote human rights and religious tolerance.  He is the first international environmental leader recognized by the United Nations as a Laureate Champion of the Earth for his pioneering work to protect the environment. Affectionately known as “the Green Patriarch,” Patriarch Bartholomew has called upon leaders of all religious traditions to join him in this effort, noting simply “If life is sacred, so is the entire web that sustains it.”

His All Holiness made an historic extended visit to the U.S. last fall, where he participated in an environmental symposium in Mississippi, ministered to the five million Orthodox faithful in America, and met with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and national religious leaders.  He is the author of Encountering the Mystery (Doubleday) and In the World, Yet Not of the World (Fordham).


Here is a short excerpt...



60 Minutes is the pre-eminent investigative television news show in the United States and has run on CBS since 1968.

The show will  also be broadcast on the 60  Minutes website: Click here

More information about Patriarch Bartholomew and his work for religious freedom, human rights, environmental conservation, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as well as texts of his addresses may be found here

To follow Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Twitter  click here