The 43rd inaugural ceremony of the president of the United States was held on January 20, 1957, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower was sworn in. In the image above, Vice President Richard Nixon is pictured to the right.
Archbishop Michael, head of the Greek Orthodox Church of America, greeted Eisenhower with the following prayer:
“May the Almighty and Everlasting God, our common Heavenly Father whom we know and love through our common Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, bestow upon you and Mrs. Eisenhower and all your family the best of health and all His blessing so that you, Mr. President, carry on the most effective way your high and responsible duties to the benefit of our dearly beloved America and the freedom loving peoples and nations of the world.”
The archbishop’s blessing of the presidential inauguration came seven years after he had met with U.S. President Harry Truman in 1950, following the Greek civil war. Truman heard from the archbishop about thousands of missing children in Greece, which was left ravaged politically and economically after the war.
