Archbishop Elpidophoro’s Presence at the Opening Ceremony of the ‘Turkish’ Turkevi Center Invites Criticism

Pic – https://twitter.com/ANCA_DC

OCP News Service – 22/9/21

New York – USA: Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) attended the opening ceremony of the ‘Turkish’ Turkevi Center in New York. The ceremony was presided over by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey on the 20th of September 2021.

Apart form being the Turkish cultural bub, the Turkevi Centre will also accommodate UN’s permanent mission of Turkey and the Turkish Consulate General. Archbishop on Monday tweeted that “I congratulated Pres. Erdogan on the opening of the Turkevi Center, together with UN SG Guterres. As always I insist on the importance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the re-opening of the Halki Theological School, and supporting the rights of religious minorities of Turkey”. Erdogan’s presence in the ceremony has invited criticism form the Greek and Armenian communities.

The Armenian National Committee of America works for truth, justice, peace & freedom (ANCA) tweeted that “Shunned by the DC establishment (hawks, doves, and everyone in between) – desperately seeking allies – Erdogan recruits Azerbaijani diplomats, representatives of the illegal Turkish occupation force in Cyprus, and the Greek Orthodox Church for this staged photo op in NYC.”

Source:
OCP News Service