Reince Priebus, hosted at Blair House a reception on the occasion of Greek Independence Day
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
WASHINGTON – The White House Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, hosted tonight, March 23, 2017, at Blair House a reception and dinner on the occasion of Greek Independence Day and in honor of Archbishop Demetrios of America.
Vice President Mike Pence, made a surprise appearance shortly after the beginning of the dinner. The Vice President praised the Greek American Community in the United States and reminisced of his visit with Archbishop Demetrios at the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in New York last year. Archbishop Demetrios in his response thanked the vice president for honoring the Greek American community.
Reince Priebus spoke of his faith, the family values he was raised by and his Greek Orthodox roots. He said that the Greek Community always stood by his side. He said that tomorrow will be a great day to celebrate Greek Independence with you all at the East Room of the White House.
He also praised the other Greek American White House staff members (George Gigicos, Sifakis, etc). He said “we have something special here as a Greek community,” and asked the guests to ask any questions they might have.
Panos Kamenos, Minister of National Defense of Greece, took the opportunity and thanked Mr Priebus for hosting the event and said that this gathering can send a message to the people of Greece who are suffering economically for more than 5 years now, to be strong, a message of hope that everything in the future will be better. He also said, “we are proud for you.”
Reince Priebus, responding to a question and speaking about religious freedom said that is one of his personal goals to get the President involved in the religious freedom of the Orthodox Church in Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarchate.