Greek-American billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis gave a full-length interview during which he spoke, among other things, about the challenges facing the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Turkish government's decision to convert the Holy Monastery of Chora into a mosque - describing the decision as tragic - and he gave his prediction and his opinion about the upcoming Presidential elections in the US., his personal friend Donald Trump and the international developments in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Edited by Eva Koutoumanou (With information from his interview with ANA-MPA)
John Catsimatidis visited Greece a few days ago, on his private jet, accompanied by his wife Margo and prominent Greek-American personalities of the religious and the business world.
Mr. Catsimatidis was one of the keynote speakers at the 4th International Conference of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on Religious Freedom held in Athens.
While in Athens, Mr. Catsimatidis gave a very interesting interview to the Athens News Agency (ANA-MPA) and the journalist Katia Tsimplaki, during which he talked about everyone and everything.
On the Turkish government's decision to turn the Holy Monastery of Chora into a mosque: "It was very tragic that the Turkish government decided to turn one of the oldest churches in the world into a mosque. I don't think under the current atmosphere in Turkey it could be reversed," the Greek-American billionaire said.
Speaking about the challenges facing the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Mr. Catsimatidis stressed that the only enemy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the Moscow Patriarchate, which would like to take precedence in the Orthodox Church.
On the conversion of Hagia Sophia and the Holy Monastery of Chora into mosques, he expressed pessimism about the possibility of Turkey reversing this decision.
Regarding the 4th International Conference of Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he said that its purpose was to align all the Archons worldwide, from Europe to North America, Australia, Asia.
"To bring them together to create a greater force for the protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and our Church," he told AMNA. He stressed that a few days before the Synod of Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate he attended in New York, at the invitation of the Vatican, celebrations of the Knights of Malta, who are the patrons of the Pope. It is an institution, as Mr. Catsimatidis said, similar to that of the Archons who protect the Ecumenical Patriarch. "They have 100,000 participants around the world. We have a long way to go to expand globally," he said, stressing that Christianity is under attack around the world. "We all need to get stronger to protect our religion, our way of life!"
Mr. Catsimatidis also spoke about Greek-American relations, which he described as excellent.
"Turkey is valuable to the United States in the new Cold War because of its position. NATO against China, Russia, Iran. The U.S. understands this. Remember what happened in Israel!", as Mr. Catsimatidis characteristically said.
The Greek-American billionaire, who is also a personal friend of Donald Trump, also spoke about the upcoming elections for the 47th President of the United States.
For Joe Biden, he expressed his joy for the great respect that the American President has for Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and Father Alex, while he also expressed confidence that he will protect the Patriarchate.
At the same time, Mr. Catsimatidis is known to be a personal friend of Donald Trump and so at every opportunity he expresses his full support for Trump's candidacy for the US Presidency.
In fact, at the recent conference of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Athens, John Catsimatidis, together with Father Alexandros Karloutsos, introduced the former Secretary of State of the United States, of the Trump Administration, Mike Pompeo, saying that he is one of the five smartest people he has known.
John Catsimatidis, a few hours after the official dinner of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at Zappeion, which marked the end of the 4th Congress, returned to New York, where he participated in Donald Trump's closed lunch of 15 people with his elite supporters.
The news was given by Mr. Catsimatidis himself in response to his privately owned radio station 77 WABC in which he has the radio shows, Cats and Cosby, CATS Roundtable, Cats at Night.
Mr. Catsimatidis said on the air of his show that Trump was "cheerful" and called the dinner "wonderful," while commenting on the decision of the Supreme Court, which found Trump guilty of felonies, he said that everyone that the dinner guests compared the trial to the 1992 American comedy "My Cousin Vinny."
Asked who he thinks will become the new US president, Catsimatidis replied that so far the outcome has not been decided. He said: "The elections are five months away and I believe the percentage will be 50-50. It will be very close. I believe that President Trump has the advantage because of all the attacks in the United States of America. Americans are outraged by the volume of immigrants and drugs coming. Our universities are being bought. Foreign money exerts great influence on Washington. President Trump in my opinion is the only one tough enough to make a difference! The United States needs a president who is tough enough to maintain the respect of the United States. other nations. A weak president will ultimately do a lot of harm to Europe and the free world! Under President Trump for four years there was no war and the United States had worldwide respect. A strong United States will keep Europe intact and create an even stronger NATO."
Finally, regarding Russia's war in Ukraine and its relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Catsimatidis stressed that "Russia would like to take control of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and make it a Russian asset. Many years ago there was the same issue, but we resolved it with President Clinton. Currently, we are working very hard to exert political influence on the United States, the Congress, the Senate, the executive bureau and the presidency of the United States. This is the only option the Archons have, they must influence the United States which is the only one that can protect the Patriarchate and religious freedom."
Asked if, at this juncture, there could be a schism in Orthodoxy, this time from the Moscow Patriarchate, Catsimatidis replied: "Russia is the only threat to the Patriarchate. Russia would love to assume the position of power held by the Ecumenical Throne in Constantinople. The powerful United States that believes in religious freedom is the only one that could prevent it."
On what he believes Russia's course will be under the presidency of Vladimir Putin, Catsimatidis said that "The aggression of Russia and China began after President Trump left office. President Biden did not act! A continued weakness in Washington's response will allow China, Russia and Iran to continue their aggression. Russia and Iran have become very rich since President Biden tried to shut down fossil fuels in America. The price of oil doubled and made both of these countries very rich. Iran became so rich that they started spending money to buy and hire terrorist groups, Hamas, Houthis and Hezbollah! Under President Trump, Iran was allowed only 400,000 barrels a day at a price of about $50 a barrel. Under President Biden, Iran produces 4 million barrels a day at twice the price of oil sold under President Trump. This makes Iran a very rich country with access to money to spend on terrorism."
For those who don't know, John Catsimatidis is one of America's richest businessmen, with a fortune of more than $4 billion. dollars, which makes him one of the richest people both in America and worldwide. He is known both for his business skills – as the Red Apple Group operates in the energy, aviation, retail and real estate sectors and employs more than 8,000 people – and for his influence through his interpersonal relationships and through his media. John Catsimatidis represents the "American Dream" like few as he literally started from scratch, coming to America from Greece with his parents, and before he turned 25 he was already one of the most successful Greek-American entrepreneurs of his time, with 10 Red Apple Supermarkets in New York.
From then on, he conquered the top, with hard work and dedication, as he says. Therefore, John Catsimatidis is rightly considered one of the most important and dynamic personalities of the Greek Diaspora and every time he gives an interview, what he says is of considerable importance.
