The General Director of SYNYPARXIS, Arch. Panteleimonas Papasynefakis, accompanied by officials of the organization, represented the Church of Greece at the 16th European Conference on Asylum entitled “Refugee Protection in Europe 2021/2022: Breakthrough or Breakdown”, which took place in Warsaw from 17 to 21 October 2022 and organized by the Committee of Churches for Migrants in Europe (CCME) and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe.
The conference, which was attended by representatives of Churches, church organizations and organizations from all over Europe, focused on the refugee crisis in Ukraine but also on the general situation in Europe regarding Asylum and refugee reception procedures.
The General Director, participating as a panel speaker regarding the current situation and challenges of the refugee in Europe, had the opportunity to present the work of the Church of Greece through SYNYPARXIS for refugees, stressing that “for the Church of Greece what matters the most is the people… their trial, their despair but also their right to a dignified life” while calling on Europe “to remember the basic principle of solidarity and end the policies of discrimination”.
On the sidelines of the conference, the General Director, following a relevant initiative of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Mr. Ieronymos, visited the border of Poland with Ukraine, where he met the heads of the border guard, the mayor of the city and members of the local Orthodox Church that informed him about the prevailing situation.
Arch. Panteleimonas conveyed, on behalf of D.E. of the organization, the expressed will of the Church of Greece to assist in every way in the relief of our fellow human beings who are being tested.
