SAE U.S.A - World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE)

In a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on Thursday, the president of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad Stefanos Tamvakis pledged the SAE's unfailing support for the work done by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Bartholomew, stressing that "its continuation concerns us all". The SAE's board was received by the Ecumenical Patriarch at Fanar on Thursday, in what Tamvakis described as a historic meeting with all members of the board after 12 years.

The Patriarch welcomed the SAE board and asked them to convey his regards to all the Greeks that they represent. He also referred to the relations of harmony and cooperation that the Orthodox Church wishes to cultivate with the expatriates' organization, stressing that it was the Church that supported expatriate Greeks before the SAE was founded.

To this end, he requested that the coordinators of the seven regions of the SAE maintain closer ties with the Church for the benefit of all Greeks. After its arrival on Wednesday night, the members of the SAE board had a first meeting with representatives of the Greek community in Istanbul where they exchanged views and ideas about the future of Greeks around the world.