His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew welcomed the Hon. Joseph Biden, Vice President of the United States, to the Sacred See of St. Andrew, First-called of the Apostles. The historical first visit of a sitting Vice President of the United States took place on Saturday, 3 December 2011, at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey, and lasted approximately two hours.
Vice President Biden was greeted at the entrance to the Patriarchal compound by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, together with the Chancellor, the Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod, and the Patriarchal Court.
His All-Holiness met with the Vice President in his personal office for a private conversation. Among the issues discussed were religious freedom in Turkey, the reopening of the Theological School of Halki, Turkey's accession to the European Union, and the ecological initiatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Afterward, the Vice President was introduced to members of the Holy and Sacred Synod, clergy and laity of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as well as prominent members of the Greek Orthodox community in Turkey and abroad, including Archons of the Order of St. Andrew in the United States. Finally, Vice President Biden was guided through the Patriarchal Church of St. George.