Following the conclusion of the 1st Greece–Turkey Cultural Forum in Cappadocia, Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, accompanied by the Consul General of Greece, Konstantinos Koutras, held a working meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Constantinople.
According to a statement issued today by the Ministry of Culture, Minister Mendoni briefed the Ecumenical Patriarch on the progress of restoration and enhancement projects currently being carried out by the Ministry at significant Christian monuments throughout Greece.
She also informed him about the positive outcomes of the Cultural Forum in Cappadocia, as well as ongoing conservation and protection works being undertaken by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism at monuments and archaeological sites in the region.
The statement noted that the Ecumenical Patriarch has a particular interest in the rock-cut monasteries and churches of Cappadocia, which he visits whenever possible.
Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Culture for the conservation of the carved wooden iconostasis and the twelve icon stands of the Patriarchal Church of St. George at the Phanar, a project recently completed by the European Centre for Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments.
