Vartholomaios to end Germany visit with Dachau tour

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios will end a nine-day official visit to Germany on Monday with a visit to the Dachau concentration camp, where thousands of Jews perished in World War II.

The spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox Church met with German President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel during his visit, which was planned to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Germany.

Vartholomaios hailed the Church as a “pillar” for thousands of Greek migrants to the northern European country.