NEW YORK - In an official statement delivered at a News Conference occasioned by the reversal of the decision by Turkish authorities to remove the members of the Board of Trustees of the Theological School of Halki, His Eminence Archbishop Spyridon thanked the Metropolitans of the Holy Eparchial Synod for their cooperative actions and assistance in the Archdiocese efforts to restore the Board.

In a joint hand-signed letter to the President of the United States, the Members of the Holy Eparchial Synod, which is presided over by Archbishop Spyridon, sought the support of President Clinton and the American Government for the cause of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and the human rights and religious freedom of the Greek Orthodox minority in Turkey. In their joint letter, the Hierarchs of the Eparchial Synod stated:

"We, the undersigned members of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, call upon you as the leader of our nation and the leader of the free world. We call upon you to act decisively for liberty, for basic human rights, and for religious freedom. We call upon you to speak boldly on behalf of the Holy Mother Church of Orthodox Christianity worldwide, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople."