At the Luncheon in Honor of His All Holiness Hosted by His Excellency Vassilis Kaskarelis, Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to the United States of America
Toast of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
The St. Regis Hotel
Direct Archdiocesan District
Washington, DC
November 2, 2009
* * *
Your Excellency Ambassador Kaskarelis,
Your Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios,
Your Eminences, Excellencies
and Graces,
Honored Guests,
It is with great joy that we find ourselves in your midst today, with so many dignitaries and friends. Our Apostolic and Patriarchal visits to the United States are always complemented by our visits to our companions in the diplomatic world, those who serve the family of nations by keeping lines of communication and dialogue open.
Here at the Embassy of the Hellenic Republic, we are reminded of the living universal and transformative ideals of Hellenism, with which the Orthodox Christian Faith shares the entirety of its two thousand year history. Among these universal ideals are the formative concepts of democracy, human rights, and the transcendent nature of the human person. Long before the world spoke of a “philosophia perennis” the Ancient Hellenes were mapping out the metaphysical and natural world across a broad philosophical landscape that is unmatched for its originality, precision, truthfulness, and humanity to this very day.
When the Gospel of Christ, born in Judaea but maturing in the Hellenistic World, came into full contact with the Greek philosophical world, a marriage of heaven and earth, of truth and artistry, of time and eternity, was consummated.
Today the Orthodox Christian Faith, wherever it has flourished and in whatever language it praises God, finds that its roots are still equally watered in the wellsprings of the Holy Lands and Hellas.
Therefore, Your Excellency, we lift our glass in thanksgiving for the gift of the Hellenes to humankind, and to you particularly for this gathering today.
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