|
|
Published
by the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America, April 2, 2004
President George W. Bush Welcomes Archbishop
Demetrios on the Occasion of Greek Independence
Day
Washington, DC -
President George W. Bush welcomed His Eminence
Archbishop Demetrios, spiritual leader of 1.5
million Greek Orthodox, to the White House on the
occasion of the celebration of Greek Independence
Day. Some 150 government officials, Greek and
Cypriot diplomats and Greek Americans from
throughout the United States, joined in the
celebration held in the Old Executive Office
Building.
In his opening remarks, Archbishop Demetrios
thanked President Bush for his generous invitation
and stated, “On this special Greek Independence
Day, as Greek Americans and Orthodox faithful, we
are joyfully aware that we have been blessed to
live in this beautiful country, a country that
constantly fights for liberation from and freedom
for, for everyone in the United States of America
and all over the world…We humbly assure you that
our Greek American community is adamantly and even
sacrificially committed to exactly the same ideas,
and we fervently pray for the full success of your
significant efforts on this matter, as well as for
the health and happiness of you personally Mr.
President and your truly distinguished family."
(Full Text attached)
President Bush warmly welcomed everyone in
attendance and acknowledged the presence of
several individuals including Andrew Natsios, the
director of the USAID and though he noted that CIA
Director George Tenet was not able to be present,
he enthusiastically reaffirmed his confidence in
him. He also, welcomed the presence of the Deputy
Foreign Minister of Greece Panagiotis Skandalakis,
Ambassador of Greece George Savvaides, Ambassador
of Cyprus Euripides Evriviades and Alex Spanos,
who had hosted an event for the President the
previous evening.
President Bush enthusiastically endorsed the
upcoming Athens Olympics and announced that his
father, President George H. W. Bush would be
leading the American delegation to the Athens this
summer.
ADDRESS
OF HIS EMINENCE ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS OF AMERICA
ON THE OCCASION OF THE 183RD CELEBRATION
OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY
MARCH 25TH, 1821
THE WHITE HOUSE
April 1, 2004
Dear Mr. President,
Once again, as representatives of the Greek
American Community, we have the distinct and great
honor of being your guests in celebrating Greek
Independence Day.
This is a celebration of the 1821 Greek War of
Liberation, an amazing achievement on the part of
the Hellenes, an event based on a dynamic faith in
God and a burning passion for freedom, an event of
astonishing spiritual depth, human quality and
historic significance. This war, however, was not
an isolated phenomenon, which suddenly appeared as
a solitary comet, or a lonely meteor but rather it
was like a shining star in a constellation of
similar stars.
The 1821 fight for regaining independence and
establishing a free country again belongs to a
lengthy chain of similar fights and has a long
past history. It is directly related to events
that happened in the distant past. It is in
substantive continuity with the battles of
Marathon in 490 B.C., of Thermopylae and of
Salamis in 480 B.C. It is displayed the spirit of
the years between 334 and 323 B.C., when Alexander
the Great reached India having successfully fought
gigantic battles throughout Asia. The 25th of
March 1821 is directly linked to one thousand
years of the Byzantine Empire, years replete with
wars of the Byzantine Greeks in multiple fronts
against formidable enemies who were constantly
attacking and threatening the freedom of the
Christian Orthodox Empire of the East.
Thus, the War for Independence in 1821 has been an
integral part of a long tradition of
uncompromising battles, fights and wars undertaken
by the Greeks for thousands of years in defense
and promotion of freedom, independence and
self-determination.
Behind the “1821 Liberation War,” one can easily
see a passionate adherence to freedom as a gift
from God, an unquenchable thirst for liberty as a
destiny of every human being and a non-negotiable
position in matters of self-determination.
There is, however, a very particular aspect Mr.
President that has to be underlined here. All the
above-mentioned wars --the 1821 included-- were
not only wars aiming at a liberation from; a
liberation from any oppression, subjugation,
domination by the evil, controlling by dark
inhuman powers. They also were wars aiming at a
liberation for, a freedom for--a freedom for
creating a prosperous life for all, a freedom for
producing culture and building civilization, a
freedom for establishing justice and peace, a
freedom for eliminating any and every form of
enslavement, a freedom for the development of fine
arts and the promotion of sciences and wisdom.
“Liberation from” and “freedom for,” were the
distinctive markers of the 1821 War of
Independence. And they have been, as in the past,
the distinctive marker of the Greek Orthodox
people in the years that have followed. There was
a freedom from and a freedom for in the Balkan
wars of 1912-1913, in Greece’s participation by
the side of the Allies in the First World War of
1914-1918, and in the Second World War of
1939-1945 against the evil powers of the Nazis and
the Fascists which threatened not only the freedom
but the very essence of humanity. And it is the
freedom from and the freedom for that is the
inspirational force for the truly noble Greek
Orthodox Cypriots today, fighting for this
precious freedom for all inhabitants of this
tormented island of the East Mediterranean, be
they Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians,
Mennonites, Maronites and Latins.
Mr. President,
On this special Greek Independence Day, as Greek
Americans and Orthodox faithful, we are joyfully
aware that we have been blessed to live in this
beautiful country, a country that constantly
fights for liberation from and freedom for, for
everyone in the United States of America, and all
over the world. And we are thankfully aware that
in you we see a President committed to liberation
from and to freedom for, for individuals,
families, societies and nations living on this
earth of ours.
We humbly assure you that our Greek-American
Community is adamantly and even sacrificially
committed to exactly these same ideals of
liberation from and freedom for. And we also
humbly assure you that we fervently pray for the
full success of your significant efforts on this
matter as well as for the health and happiness of
you personally, Mr. President, and of your truly
distinguished family.
|
