Meeting with the Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Faith Communities

On December 7 2020, His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarch, received Mr Jonathan Hellewell LVO, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Faith Communities, accompanied by Ms Elena Narozanski, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister in the No. 10 Policy Unit, at the Archdiocesan Headquarters. The Very Rev Fr Nephon Tsimalis, Director of the Office of the Archbishop, and Mr. Jason Charalambous, Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Cyprus who facilitated the introduction, were present during the meeting.

During the visit, His Eminence first thanked his esteemed visitors for their time and interest in the Orthodox Community in the United Kingdom (which includes an estimated 350,000 British Cypriots). He then shared his vision for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and discussed issues of mutual interest, concerning the societal role of the Church in the United Kingdom, and especially about the effects of the current pandemic and ways to respond to the challenges. He also expressed his personal commitment as well as that of the Archdiocese collectively, to participate in inter-religious and inter-Christian initiatives bettering social cohesion and cultivating a culture of solidarity among all people here. The meeting ensued with discussion about matters pertaining to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Hagia Sophia, Chora Monastery, the Mediterranean world, as well as matters facing religious communities here and throughout the world.

The Archbishop thanked his esteemed guests once more and requested that they convey to the Rt Hon Boris Johnson, the Prime Minster, the festive Christmas greetings of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as well as the collective prayers and tidings of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the United Kingdom.