Maronite Patriarch Begins Historic Visit to Greece

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rai will begin his visit to Greece tomorrow, Thursday, marking the first visit by a Maronite patriarch to the country. The visit extends from Thursday, October 15, until Monday, October 19. Patriarch al-Rai is traveling from Rome after participating in the Synod on Family Affairs. Accompanying him are the Apostolic Visitor for Maronites in Greece, Bishop Joseph Soueif; Archbishop of the Maronite Archdiocese of Cyprus, Bishop Selim Sfeir; Father Aql Bou Nader from Larnaca, Cyprus; Head of the Patriarchate's Media Office, Lawyer Walid Ghiyad; Coordinator of the Mount Athos visit, colleague George Arab; and Dr. Hisham Mansour.

The visit was organized in its three aspects—religious pilgrimage, pastoral dimension, and ecumenical dimension—by Bishop Soueif in coordination with Lebanon's Ambassador to Greece, Kenj Al-Hajel, Consul General Queen Salameh, and the embassy staff, along with the servant of the Maronite parish, Father Joseph Taratuk, and the parish council headed by Joe El-Fagali and Father Marius Atallah, in addition to the office of the Archbishop of Greece, Ieronymos.

Bishop Soueif spoke about the visit, saying: "The visit is distributed across three complementary aspects, as if following in the footsteps of Saint Paul. It begins with a religious pilgrimage to the city of Thessaloniki and Mount Athos, where Patriarch al-Rai and the accompanying delegation will spend two days in the city and under the hospitality of the Holy Mountain fathers at Simonopetra Monastery and others. He will meet the head of the monasteries of the Mountain in Karyes, Elder Father Georgios, and other monastery heads. There will be tours of Thessaloniki's most prominent museums and those of the Holy Mountain, along with their religious and heritage landmarks. After visiting the Mountain, Patriarch al-Rai will move to Athens to continue the pastoral and ecumenical sides of his visit through his meeting with the Archbishop of Greece, Ieronymos, which is the first meeting between these two major religious authorities. He will also meet the Latin Archbishop of Greece, Theodoros Kontidis, on Saturday evening, followed by a reception hosted by Lebanese Ambassador Kenj in honor of Patriarch al-Rai."

He added: "On Sunday, Patriarch al-Rai will celebrate Mass for the Maronites of Greece and their friends at St. John the Baptist Church. Representatives of Maronite institutions and those directly or indirectly linked to the Patriarchate in Lebanon will participate in this Mass, coming to Greece on the occasion of the patriarchal visit, such as the Maronite League, the Maronite Diaspora Foundation, the Qannoubine Association for Mission and Heritage, and others, in addition to believers from several Maronite parishes in Lebanon and some diaspora countries. After the Mass, Patriarch al-Rai will meet the Maronites and other community members over a table of love. In the afternoon, he will travel to the area of Loutra, which Saint Paul reached when he came to evangelize Corinth and its surroundings. He will meet religious and temporal officials within the framework of launching a religious pilgrimage path and cultural-tourist cooperation between Corinth and Qannoubine, in accordance with a charter whose implementation will be followed up later. Then he will tour the ancient areas of Corinth and its surroundings."

Bishop Soueif noted that "a meeting will be held between Patriarch al-Rai and a number of members of the Greek Parliament on Monday morning before the conclusion of the visit and the departure of Patriarch al-Rai and the delegation."