On Thursday morning, January 10/23, 2020, His Excellency the President of the Hellenic Republic (before his retirement) Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos visited the Patriarchate. Mr Pavlopoulos came to Israel as a representative of Greece for the commemoration of seventy five years since the Jewish holocaust and was accompanied by his wife, the Consul General of Greece in Jerusalem Mr. Christos Sophianopoulos, the Ambassador of Greece in Israel and the Leader of the Diplomatic Delegation Consul Stavroula Deli, along with a group of his associates.
His Excellency the President and the delegation were warmly received by H.H.B. our Father and Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos and Hagiotaphite Fathers, as the President is the representative of Greece, a helper of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the guardian of the rights of our Nation in the Holy Land and a factor of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East.
Replying, the President thanked His Beatitude for His support to him, the Greek people and the Church of Greece.
For this visit, His Beatitude offered the President a beautiful icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem for his protection, congratulating him for the completion of his Office as a President and also offered him a signed silver case.
Consequently, His Beatitude left to meet with the President of Russia Mr. Putin and the Prime Minister of Israel Mr. Netanyahu and the President of Greece visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, accompanied by Geronda Secretary-General His Eminence Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Archimandrites of the Patriarchate and Dragouman Archimandrite Mattheos and was received by Geronda Sacristan His Eminence Archbishop Isidoros of Hierapolis.
— Source: From Secretariat-General / en.jerusalem-patriarchate.info