In an interview, Patriarch Bartholomew, also spoke of his visits to other churches around the world: “Our visits are a pleasant obligation, in all cases a response to fraternal invitations, and are a continuation of this” march of love “begun by my late predecessor, the patriarch Demetrius, [on the patriarchal throne from 1972 to 1991] and before him Patriarch Athenagoras. [On the patriarchal throne from 1948 to 1972] The extremely exciting way in which the Ecumenical Patriarch is greeted everywhere by local church pastors and the pious flock, and by the rulers in the various countries, testifies to their sincere desire to communicate with him, on whose shoulders many places many hopes. As is well known, Orthodoxy today faces difficult problems and too many threats – mostly from the outside, but also from the inside, unfortunately. The personal communication between the superiors and in general between the church pastors and the joint prayer with them and with the people, the meeting in the spirit of love and mutual help and, finally, the joint search and formulation of the Orthodox answers to challenges of our time, which are largely non-Orthodox. even anti-Orthodox, are the first priority of our patriarchate. We intend to continue to pay great attention to them to the best of our ability. “
November 2, 2021, marked the thirtieth anniversary of the enthronement of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the 270th bishop of Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul, and for the Bulgarians and other Slavs – Constantinople. Impressive what Patr. Bartholomew says in his enthronement: that he takes “the cross of the holy apostle Andrew the First-Called (the first bishop of Byzantium) in the constant ascent on the way to the place of death, so that we may be crucified with the Lord and His crucified Church, to preserve the light of the Resurrection! ” And further: “Remaining in deep awareness of our unworthiness and humility and seeing how difficult it is to bear this cross that we take, we resort to the mercy of the Lord and call on His grace, so that in our weakness His power may be fully manifested. [1 Cor. 12: 9]
He was born and raised in Turkey. After graduating from the Theological School on the island of Halki (Hebeili-ada) in the Sea of Marmara and five years of scientific specialization in Italy, Germany and Switzerland, he returned to Turkey and has been living and working in various positions for fifty years. the lowest to the highest in the Patriarchate of Constantinople. All this time he has been a loyal citizen of his earthly homeland. Therefore, upon taking office as patriarch, he feels obliged to declare: “We assume our obligations under the protection of the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Turkey. Continuing the centuries-old tradition of the patriarchs after the conquest (of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks); We will remain a faithful and loyal citizens of this country, as are our local spiritual children of the Church, doing God’s works and on behalf of Gentlemen, we will honestly and sincerely give Caesar’s things to Caesar. [Matt. 22:21] We believe that in this place it is our responsible duty to state clearly that the Ecumenical Patriarchate remains a purely spiritual institution and a symbol of reconciliation.
The structure of the Orthodox Church as a community of independent local (autocephalous local) churches, united by a single faith and its respective cult, is peculiar. The individual churches, members of this community, recognize among themselves only the subordination of honour, but not of authority. And every act of electing a new head in a separate local church is legalized at the inter-Orthodox level with its very announcement, announced by the church in which the change took place, to the other churches. This was done in writing after his election by the newly elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew. But the interesting thing is that even in his enthronement in his throne speech he mentioned the heads of the other thirteen local churches: Patriarch Parthenius of Alexandria, Patriarch Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch Diodorus of Jerusalem, Patriarch Alexy of Moscow, Patriarch Maxim of Serbia, Patriarch of Serbia Georgian Patriarch Elijah, Archbishop Chrysostom of Cyprus, Archbishop Seraphim of Greece, Metropolitan Basil of Warsaw, Archbishop Anastasius of Albania, Metropolitan Dorothea of Prague. He calls them “many brothers and co-workers around the altar of one and inseparable Orthodoxy.” In this way, he recognizes all other heads of Orthodox churches and asks for their recognition. He continues: “Before them and before the whole Church under heaven with boldness and a joyful spirit we profess the holy and immaculate Orthodox faith – this living experience of the centuries-old body of Christ, as this faith springs from Divine Revelation, the Old and New Testaments, and as was transmitted by the Lord through the spiritual holy apostles and was formulated in the definitions of the seven holy ecumenical councils by our God-bearing fathers, and was expressed and interpreted by them and by the Church writers recognized by the Church, and – to put it briefly – we unreservedly profess the faith of One, the Holy, Ecumenical and Apostolic Church. United by this common faith and the common Holy Grail, and by our loving faith, we extend a hand of fellowship to our venerable fellow presbyters and promise that in shared responsibility we will bear our witness in a world that is divided but divided. and longs for unity and reconciliation as perhaps never before in its history. “
The exceptional ability of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to judge accurately and to think in perspective makes him, even in his enthronement, which coincides with the beginning of political changes in Central and Eastern Europe, express empathy for democratic processes and hope for a better future for those affected. nations, most of whom are Orthodox by faith: “This testimony of Orthodoxy is all the more necessary and urgent today when God’s providence has allowed us to see rapid changes and at the same time cosmogonic development in the lives of the peoples of the world. bring modern man the hope of a better future of peace, freedom and respect for human dignity. These rapid social upheavals have occurred or are still occurring to a large extent in countries and among nations that are traditionally Orthodox. That is why the Orthodox Churches are mostly more influenced by them. As a result, it is natural for the Orthodox Churches to feel called to be vigilant, seek cooperation and contribute so that these processes are truly for the benefit of the people who have suffered greatly in our century. Orthodoxy still has too much to contribute to today’s world. Orthodoxy has not only the right faith in the true God but also the right understanding of man as the image of God, as well as of the world and creation.
In his quest to follow the path of the apostles of Jesus Christ, who spread faith in Him among the unbelieving world, and not forgetting the realities of modern society, Patr. Bartholomew declares his readiness: “We will not neglect, if necessary, the opportunity to have a dialogue even with those who do not know or deny, even with those who blaspheme God, as well as with them – especially with them! – give our testimony of the love of Christ, Who abandoned the ninety-nine to seek one, because for this one Christ was crucified too!… We send a special fatherly greeting and our heartfelt patriarchal blessing to the youth, which is not only the future but our dynamic present, insofar as there is no future without the present. From the Mother Church, we express the infinite and sincere sympathy of our Church, as well as our personal sympathy for the problems of the modern youth all over the world and we, make them our own problems. ”[Cf. Matt. 18:12]
Biographical reference
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was born on the island of Imbros, Turkey (south of the Dardanelles), in 1940 as Dimitrios Archondonis. He received his primary education in his hometown, then studied at the Zografova (named after the donor Hristaki Zografos, a Greek banker in Paris) lyceum in Constantinople, and finally graduated with honours from the Higher Theological School on the island of Halki.
In 1961 he was ordained a hierodeacon and given the name Bartholomew. He continued his studies in Rome, Bose (Switzerland) and Munich, specializing in ecclesiastical law (1963-1968). He received a doctorate in ecclesiastical law from the Institute for Oriental Studies in Rome for a dissertation on “Codification of Sacred Canons and Canonical Provisions in the Orthodox Church.” In 1968 he was appointed assistant rector of the Halkin Theological School. The following year he was ordained a hieromonk and elevated to the rank of archimandrite by Patr. Athenagoras († 1972). From 1972 he became head of the personal office of Patr. Dimitri, with which he gained managerial experience and received the opportunity for indirect participation in the affairs of the Patriarchate. In 1973 he was ordained a bishop and received the title of Metropolitan of Philadelphia, and in 1990 he was promoted to senior metropolitan (“geronto”) of Chalcedon. From 1974 until his election as patriarch, he was a member of St. Synod and a number of synods commissions. He represented the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the World Council of Churches, and participated in numerous official delegations. As a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he has visited local Orthodox churches and other churches and denominations, as well as the dioceses of the Patriarchate in dispersion on different continents, as well as on Mount Athos, and has participated in many scientific conferences.
On October 22, 1991, he was unanimously elected by the extended staff of St. Synod in Istanbul for “Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch”, as is his full title. The enthronement took place on November 2 this year.
Many universities around the world have declared him an honorary doctor of science.
Among his main concerns is the development of inter-Orthodox unity, for which purpose he convened a series of meetings of the heads of the local Orthodox churches. He had set the goal of his life to finally hold an all-Orthodox council, which had been intensively prepared since 1960 and took place in June 2016 on the island of Crete, Greece, although boycotted by some local churches, among whom was the BOC. At the end of 2018, there was a big rift with the Moscow Patriarchate due to the autocephaly of some of the Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine under the name “Autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine”, and thus seriously violated the all-Orthodox unity and interaction.
Great interest patriarch Bartholomew is also committed to protecting the environment, which is why some call him the “green patriarch.” One of its main goals is to restore the activities of the Higher Theological School on the island of Halki.
