wfn.org | Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Welcomed by Children in New

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   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   March 18, 2004

   Contact: Nikki Stephanopoulos

   HUNDREDS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN WELCOME ECUMENICAL
   PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW TO ST. NICHOLAS CHURCH IN FLUSHING

   New York, NY - Hundreds of children from several greater New York Greek
   Orthodox Parochial schools warmly and enthusiastically welcomed His All
   Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of over 250
   million Orthodox Christians worldwide, to St. Nicholas Church in
   Flushing, NY on Wednesday, March 17.

   His All Holiness, who is making his fifth visit to the Greek Orthodox
   Archdiocese of America, responded with words of faith, love and hope.
   "Your gathering today constitutes a community of hope, for you are indeed
   children of hope.  You are the children of heroic immigrants who came to
   this country with their faith and with the will to live a free, bountiful
   and prosperous life...Because of their struggles and achievements, they
   have made it possible for you to grow amidst happy families, in happy
   homes.  And, they made it possible for you to receive perhaps the
   greatest gift that a parent could ever give: the gift of an extraordinary
   and excellent education.  The education that you are receiving at your
   parochial Schools is an extraordinary education because it is rooted in
   the inexhaustible wealth of our magnificent Orthodox faith and the
   invaluable riches of the classical Hellenic tradition."

   Immediately following, His All Holiness attended a luncheon in his honor
   hosted by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation commemorating, "The Tenth
   Anniversary of the Bosphorous Declaration", at the Minskoff Cultural
   Center.

   In the evening the Archons of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle hosted
   a dinner in honor of the Ecumenical Patriarch at the Council of Foreign
   Relations. Commenting on  recent terrorist events, His All Holiness said,
   " Two recent events have completely shattered our hearts: the terrorist
   attacking Madrid, which resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent
   people and the injury of hundreds of others; and the fire on Mount Athos,
   which destroyed a large part of our historic Patriarchal Monastery of
   Hiliandari. We mourn for the loss of innocent victims in Spain, and also
   for the victims in United States of two years ago. Terrorism is blind. It
   hit Madrid yesterday, Constantinople a little while ago; before that it
   hit Moscow, and before that it attacked New York. When will people
   finally realize that problems are not solved through blind, murderous
   attacks against innocent and unsuspecting people, but, rather, through
   dialogue and diplomacy? May God illumine those whose hearts have been
   darkened by hatred religious bigotry, and senseless nationalism."

   This morning, March 18, the Ambassador of Greece to the United Nations
   Adamantios Vassilakis, hosted a breakfast at his residence, in honor of
   His All Holiness. Twenty- two ambassadors and several other United
   Nations diplomats attended and heard His All Holiness applaud their
   efforts. "You have the high responsibility to represent the honorable
   interests of your countries to the United Nations. Your work, especially
   under the present conditions of increased turmoil and terrorism observed
   throughout the globe, is hardly easy. You are well equipped, though, and
   you bring your diplomatic experience, which is very significant, along
   with the confidence that your countries have place in you. Keeping your
   high mission in mind, we extend our warm prayers and blessings those of
   the sacred Center of Orthodoxy. Your accomplishments are a source of joy
   and satisfaction for the entire world."

   His All Holiness will continue his visit to New York today with a lecture
   this afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled, Byzantine
   Icons: A Legacy of Humanism.  This evening, he will attend a Reception
   and Dinner for the Library Conservation project of St. Catherine's
   Monastery (Mt. Sinai) on the occasion of the Byzantium: Faith and Power
   (1261-1557) Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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