The authorities of Chios and the expatriates reserved a warm welcome to the Archbishop of America Elpidoforos, who arrived on the island yesterday, Monday, 6 September, and will remain until Thursday morning, 9 September.
The Archbishop of America, accompanied by his mother and brother, arrived at the airport, where he was welcomed by the most respected Metropolitan of Chios, Mark, the mayor of Chios, Stamatis Karmantzis, the president of the Union of Expatriates of Chios, Pantelis Bournias, the Supreme Secretary General. of the Expatriate Organization AHEPA, Savvas Tsivikos, members of the Chian Federation of New York, lords of the Ecumenical Throne.
Subsequently, began his tour in Chios with a prayer in favor of Peace at the historic Monastery of Agios Minas, in which one of the greatest massacres of Christians by the Ottomans took place, sending a message to the Turks, "For good neighborliness and mutual respect".
Visiting the ossuary of the Monastery, where the bones of the martyrs slaughtered by the Ottomans are kept, The Archbishop of America stated that "we must look worthy of the sacrifice of our fathers and brothers, and let our neighbors never repeat the atrocities of the past, but to learn all together to live in peace, love and fellowship. The sacrifice of these people should not be wasted even for us who enjoy our freedom thanks to their sacrifice and the other side, the opposite, which I saw as I was coming to the monastery, to understand that these times are over and we must now learn to be civilized, to be good neighbors and a good neighborhood means mutual respect and freedom ".
In the afternoon he visited the Mastic Museum, in the villages of Mesta and Mesa Didyma, as well as in Agia Eleni, while in the evening he hosted a dinner in his honor, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis.
Today, Tuesday, will visit the "Ark of the Aegean" in Aepos, Agia Markella and Kardamyla, where the North Aegean Regional Governor will serve him a meal, Costas Moutzouris.