On Sunday, January 7, 2018, His All-Holiness received His Beatitude Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria together with the members of his entourage — various metropolitans and clergy of the Church of Bulgaria — at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, during His Beatitude’s visit for the reopening of the newly renovated Church of St. Stephen in the Phanar District of Istanbul. This was the first visit of Patriarch Neophyte to the Ecumenical Patriarchate since the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which the Church of Bulgaria did not attend.

The annual European Meeting of Young Adults organized by the Community of Taizé  took place in the city of Basel (Switzerland) and the surrounding area from 28 December 2017 to 1^st January 2018. Tens of thousands of youth gathered for a new stage of the “Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth” begun by Brother Roger at the end of the 1970s. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, represented by Archbishop Job of Telmessos at the meeting, sent the following message: Continue reading →

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee met in Amman (Jordan) on 17-23 November 2017 to approve the 2018 plan and budget and prepare for renewal of the WCC strategic plan at the invitation of Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, All Palestine and Jordan. In his welcome address, the Patriarch of Jerusalem underlined that the meeting gathered in “the Middle East at a difficult time for [the] region. The world community is united in the view that a vital, vibrant Christian community is an essential part of the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-religious landscape of the Middle East. We are indigenous to this region, and indeed the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem is the oldest continuous religious institution here.” Continue reading →

The Faculty of Theology of the University of Geneva and the Institute of Post-Graduated Studies in Orthodox Theology in Chambésy (Switerland) co-organized an International Conference on the Anthropology of Luther in Protestant and Orthodox Perspectives on 7-8 December 2017 to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Continue reading →

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem on 6 December 2017 recognizing his contribution to promoting interreligious dialogue between the two monotheistic religions. In his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch said that he considers “this gesture a tribute paid to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Great Church of Christ, in recognition of its many initiatives, especially on matters related to the protection of the natural environment, to the culture of solidarity and to interfaith dialogue”. Continue reading →

On 30 November 2017, the Ecumenical Patriarchate celebrated its Thronal Feast — the feast of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First Called. According to a long established tradition, the celebration was attended by a delegation from the Church of Rome that came for the occasion, which was composed by His Eminence Kurt Cardinal Koch (President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity), His Excellency Archbishop Brian Russell (Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey), His Grace Bishop Brian Farrell (Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) and Monsignor Andrea Palmieri (Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity). Continue reading →

An international conference co-organised by the Faculty of Theology and the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and the Institute of Post-graduate studies in Orthodox Theology of Chambésy (Switzerland) on 16-18 November 2017 on the theme “Synodality and its Implementation – A Theological ‘topos’ for the Church in East and West” focused on the key issue of synodality in the contemporary Orthodox-Catholic bilateral dialogue. Continue reading →

The 17th Plenary of the International Joint Commission on the Theological Dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church was held at Sofia Cultural Center in Helsinki, Finland (7 November – 14 November 2017), hosted by the Lutheran World Federation with generous support of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Sofia Cultural Center.

The meeting was chaired by the two co-presidents, from the Orthodox side by H.E. Metropolitan Prof. Dr. Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate), and from the Lutheran World Federation side by Archbishop (Em.) Dr. Anders Wejryd (Church of Sweden). Continue reading →

The 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference is an international meeting of political leaders and activists to discuss environmental issues. It is being held in Bonn (Germany) from 6–17 November 2017. The conference incorporated the twenty-third Conference of the Parties (COP-23), the thirteenth meeting of the parties for the Kyoto Protocol (CMP13), and the second meeting of the parties for the Paris Agreement (CMA2). The purpose of the conference is to discuss and implement plans about combating climate change, especially the Paris Agreement. On that occasion, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew sent the following message: Continue reading →

His Eminence Dr Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, general secretary of the Muslim World League visited for te first time the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 9 November 2017, where he discussed with WCC leaders both the meaning and importance of “just peace.” Both institutions have a common commitment to justice and peace.

In his opening remarks, Al-Issa said: “Peace cannot be achieved without total justice, abstract justice can only lead to false peace.” He added: “Religious freedom is a human and logical necessity, a given if we understand the holy texts correctly.” Continue reading →