Events in 2008
Ambassador Speckhard Meets Ecumenical Patriarch
May 14, 2008
The Ecumenical Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox faith Bartholomew I received U.S. Ambassador to Greece Daniel V. Speckhard today on the occasion of his visit to Athens.
After thanking His All Holiness for the meeting, Ambassador Speckhard reiterated that the United States supports the reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Halki Seminary as a vocational school, and continues to encourage Turkey to permit this.
“Issues of religious freedom have the attention of the highest authorities of the United States,” the Ambassador noted. “My colleagues the American Ambassador in Ankara and the Consul General in Istanbul closely follow all developments related to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as do I.”
The Ambassador was accompanied by his wife, Dr. Anne Speckhard.