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GOAA - President George Bush Welcomes Archbishop Demetrios


From Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>
Date Thu, 31 Mar 2005 03:37:12 -0800

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0215
Web: http://www.goarch.org
Email: communications@goarch.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2005
Contact: Nikki Stephanopoulos

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH WARMLY WELCOMES
ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS AND THE GREEK AMERICAN
COMMUNITY TO THE WHITE HOUSE ON THE
OCCASION OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY 2005

New York, NY - President George W. Bush warmly welcomed His Eminence
Archbishop Demetrios of America, spiritual leader of 1.5 million Greek
Orthodox Christians, and the Greek American community to the White House on
March 28, on the occasion of the celebration of Greek Independence Day: A
National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy 2005.
(Proclamation text attached). Some 100 government officials, the Foreign
Minister of Greece, Greek and Cypriot diplomats and Greek Americans from
throughout the United States attended the ceremony in the Old Executive
Office building.

In his opening remarks, Archbishop Demetrios thanked President Bush for his
kind invitation and stated: "Mr. President, we as Christian Orthodox Greek
Americans, are very grateful to you for inviting us here today for this
celebration of freedom, liberation and independence and for issuing the
truly outstanding declaration which stands as a witness to your commitment
for freedom for all peoples.

?. We know that your perspective of freedom embraces places in need and
support of it from Afghanistan and Iraq to the Middle East, Cyprus, and the
Balkans especially in sensitive areas like Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia. And we are particularly touched by your efforts to
secure the freedom of worship, education, and benevolent actions for all
religious minorities and institutions, among them for our Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople." (Full text of Archbishop's address
attached)

President Bush, in his response, warmly welcomed His Eminence and everyone
in attendance and said, "Greek Independence Day is a good time to confirm
the presence of Greek Americans in our country and gives us a chance to say
thanks to a fantastic culture for enriching America." The President also
acknowledged the presences of several individuals, including Greek American
members of his administration Andrew Natsios, the director of the USAID and
Frances Fragos Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy National
Secretary for Combating Terrorism. He praised John Negroponte, his National
Intelligence Director, Designate, and also acknowledged the presence of the
Foreign Minister of Greece Petros Molyviatis, the Ambassador of Greece
George Savvaides and the Ambassador of Cyprus Euripides Evriviades. The
President repeatedly recognized the Foreign Minister, emphasizing the warm
relations between the governments of Greece and the United States.

Earlier, the Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta hosted a luncheon in
honor of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios in Blair House. In welcoming His
Eminence and guests, including members of the government, diplomats and
Greek American community, Secretary Mineta said: "We celebrate today
values such as faith, hard work, devotion to family and koinotita
(community). Today's celebration of your homeland is not only a
celebration of heritage, but also of democracy?Indeed, as the struggle for
independence and freedom continues to be recognized today by our two great
nations - Greece is one of only a handful of countries that fought
alongside the United States in every major 20th century war. Now as the
21st century has dawned, Greece and America once again stand united, no
matter how far apart are our shores, Greeks and Americans share the love of
freedom, liberty and individual rights and for that we are here today to
celebrate."

Greek Independence Day, 2005
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

Well before modern Greece gained her independence, the ancient Athenians
adopted democratic principles that guided their society. These principles
inspired our Founding Fathers to proclaim the imperative of self-government
as they worked to build our great Nation. America's love for liberty has
deep roots in the spirit of Greece. On Greek Independence Day, we celebrate
our special ties of friendship, history, and shared values with Greece.

Our country has welcomed generations of Greek immigrants, and we are
grateful for their talents, wisdom, and creativity. We honor the Greek
spirit that values family and education, public service and faith. Greek
Americans have made a mark in every field B- enhancing our culture,
enriching our commerce, and defending our freedom. Their strong record of
public service has also strengthened our democracy, and their contributions
have made America a better place.

As we address the challenges of the 21st century, the United States and
Greece remain committed partners in the vital work of advancing freedom and
democracy. Our two Nations are founded on shared ideals of liberty, and we
are working together to advance those ideals across the world today.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 2005, as Greek
Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American
Democracy. I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate
ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty fourth day of
March, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty ninth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Address by Archbishop Demetrios of America
To the President of the United States of America George Bush
Celebration of Greek Independence Day
White House, Washington DC
28 March 2005

Mr. President,
We are, as representatives of the Christian Orthodox Greek-American
community, once again, in this historic and sacred place of our nation,
invited by your extraordinary kindness in a special celebration of the
Greek Independence Day. This is a celebration of freedom, a gathering
together to sing with our hearts and minds the hymns of liberation and the
praises of independence. Indeed, this celebration reverberates powerfully
and harmoniously the basic theme of freedom which you, Mr. President, so
eloquently and passionately presented at your inspiring and programmatic
inaugural speech on January 20th of this year. This is so because the
essence of Greek Independence Day is freedom. Freedom in a multidimensional
way.

The celebration of Greek Independence Day is a direct reference to two
distinct dates: the 25th of March of the year 0 (Zero) twenty centuries ago
and the 25th of March of the year 1821, almost two centuries ago.

The first date is the original day of the unique event of the Annunciation
made to the Virgin Mary at Nazareth. This was an event of ultimate and
all-encompassing freedom because it announced the Good News of God becoming
human in the person of Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man. In Jesus
Christ, through His ministry, death and Resurrection we have the liberation
from the bondage to evil and sin, the liberation from the slavery to
ignorance and falsehood and the liberation from the subjugation to death
and its fear. Thus in the event of the Annunciation a triple freedom of the
highest possible nature and quality is proclaimed and experienced as
ineffable joy of forgiveness and liberation from guilt, as amazing
knowledge of the divine Truth and as firm conviction that death, the
primordial enemy, has been defeated.

To the above three vital aspects of freedom, a fourth, exceedingly
important aspect is added by the second date which is central to the Greek
Independence Day celebration namely the 25th of March 1821.

This date is also dominated by the reality of freedom understood as
national and political independence. It was freedom as a superb gift of
God, as an absolute human value and as a universal and diachronic ideal,
that inspired the people of Greece to start a revolution for gaining their
independence after four centuries of foreign occupation of their God-given
land. They considered freedom from the yoke of a hostile power, and
achievement of their national independence as something truly sacred that
deserved the heaviest sacrifices on their part. They placed freedom above
their own lives, declared, on the very same day of the feast of the
Annunciation, that "God has signed the freedom of Greece and He cannot take
back His signature", and started their revolution. The reality that the
Greek people found themselves faced with in 1821 clearly indicated that
their war for independence had no chance for success. It was a fight
against a formidable Ottoman empire, much like that of David against
Goliath to use a biblical image?but we know that David was victorious. And
so were the truly heroic Greek Independence fighters of 1821. They were
victorious against all negative predictions and they managed to
re-establish Greece as an independent nation and state after four centuries
of suffering and ordeal under a cruel and brutal foreign rule. Thus they
presented to the world an amazing model of freedom and independence of a
truly lasting value, a model beautifully suggested by their basic slogan:
it is better a life of freedom even for one hour than a life of forty years
of slavery and prison. A model fully relevant to the contemporary world,
especially in situations where freedom in all its aspects, as a God given
right, is being suppressed and denied.

Mr. President,

We, as Christian Orthodox Greek-Americans, are very grateful to you for
inviting us here today for this celebration of freedom, liberation and
independence and for issuing the truly outstanding declaration which stands
as a witness to your commitment for freedom for all peoples.

We are thankful to you for making freedom the theme of your inaugural
speech, thus giving to our nation the stimulating and inspiring guidance
for thinking freedom, programming freedom and doing freedom within America,
the land and the home of the brave and the free, and throughout the whole
world. We know that your perspective of freedom embraces places in need and
support of it from Afghanistan and Iraq to the Middle East, Cyprus, the
Balkans especially in sensitive areas like Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia. And we are particularly touched by your efforts to
secure the freedom of worship, education, and benevolent action for all
religious minorities and institutions, among them for our Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople.

We know that God, the Liberator and Lord of freedom, is with us and we
fervently pray for his blessings on the sacred work for freedom, liberation
and independence for all people and nations, a work that all of us, and
especially you Mr. President, are pursuing, following the declaration of
God to all the people of the earth: You have been called to freedom? but
through love serve each other (Galatians 5:13).

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