Yesterday, on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, a Delegation of the Church of Greece arrived in the capital of China Beijing. The Delegation is headed by His Eminence Chrysostomos the Metropolitan of Dodoni, President, and as its members it has: the Venerable Archimandrite Spyridon Katramados, Secretary; Mr. Vasilios Tzerpos; and Mr. Hristos Petreas, a special associate to the Synodal Office for Pilgrimage Tours of the Church of Greece. The goal of their mission is to participate in the International Tourism Expo (BITE) in Beijing (June 21-23, 2013).
The Delegation was received by His Excellency Mr. Vasilios Kostis, Ambassador of Greece in Beijing, who together with his associates welcomed it by organizing an honorary dinner. He furthermore explained the great significance of the fact that the Church of Greece will also take part in the aforementioned International Expo.
Today, on Wednesday, June 19, 2013, the Delegation visited the Office of the Greek Tourism Organization in Beijing. During the meeting held with Mr. Ioannis Pleksousakis, the Director of the Office, it was agreed to cooperate with the aim of promoting and achieving better visibility of the multimedia materials about the Holy Monasteries, Monuments and Pilgrimage sites. The materials in question were provided by the Holy Dioceses of the Church of Greece, especially that of Dodecanese, as well as the Holy Monastery of the Revelation on the island of Patmos.
Afterwards, the Delegation accompanied by the Press Officer of the Greek Embassy in China Mr. Theophanis Frankis, had the opportunity to visit the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, as well as other sites and monuments of cultural and historical significance in Beijing.
Tomorrow, on Thursday, June 20, 2013, the Delegation shall go to the Exhibition venue in order to prepare the part of the Greek stand, which was allocated by the Greek Tourism Organization to the Synodal Office of Pilgrimage Tours of the Church of Greece. Meetings with Chinese operators and travel agencies are also planned.
From the Synodal Office