Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Patriarchal and Synodal Encyclical Issued on the Occasion of the 1700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea Prot. No. 335 + B A R T H O L O M E W By God’s Mercy, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch To the Plenitude of the Church: May God’s Grace and Peace be with you! We offer a hymn of thanks to the almighty, all-seeing, and benevolent God in Trinity, who vouchsafed that His people reach the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which bore spiritual witness to…
Browsing: Patriarch Bartholomew
Source: Religion News Service Christian leaders stress that the council and its anniversary still have relevance in the modern day, despite theological divides. By David I. Klein İZNIK, Turkey (RNS) — For Christian leaders across the world and across denominations, the anniversary of the first Council of Nicaea is providing an opportunity for introspection and, potentially, the beginning of further dialogue. Seventeen hundred years ago — from May through July 325 — more than 200 bishops of early Christian churches gathered in the town of Nicaea, then in the Roman province of Bithynia (now İznik, Turkey), to determine a unified…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate New details have emerged regarding the private meeting between His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday, May 19, 2025, the day after the inauguration of the new Pope. According to the Zenit News Agency, which reports on the activities of the Pope and the Church of Rome, “This was not merely a handshake between dignitaries. It was a renewed embrace between two ancient churches still walking the long and often fractured road toward unity.” Zenit added that “for Bartholomew, the longest-serving Ecumenical Patriarch in centuries and a tireless…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America On Wednesday, May 21st, the feast of Sts. Constantine and Helen, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in an audience with the Holy Cross senior students on the St. Helen’s Pilgrimage led by V. Rev. Archimandrite Bartholomew Mercado, a member of the Holy Cross faculty. Archbishop Elpidophoros offered remarks to His All-Holiness in which he expressed the dedication and commitment of our Sacred Archdiocese and our beloved School to the self-sacrificial ministry of His All-Holiness and the Mother Church of Constantinople. He then proceeded to introduce the students…
Source: Yankee Athonite Michael Warren Davis Pope Francis is dead. May God remember him forever in His kingdom! What will be his legacy? Catholics will be wrestling with this question for many years to come. Their conversations will be held in public; nevertheless, they are private. They’ll be held on their own terms—terms like infallible and indefectable. I no longer accept those terms, which is why I became Orthodox. Yet that means I have no right to discuss what Pope Francis “means” for the Catholic Church. Those conversations must be kept in the family. I would, however, like to say a few words…
Source: The National Herald By Theodore Kalmoukos BOSTON – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is expected to visit the United States this coming fall [2025]. The exact dates have not yet been set, but exclusive information received by The National Herald suggests that the visit may take place between September and October. Sources of The National Herald in the Phanar in Constantinople stated that “the discussions are still in the early stages, and it will take some time to finalize the dates.” Regarding the purpose of the visit, it was mentioned that “beyond its pastoral nature, it will also have a political…
Source: The National Herald CONSTANTINOPLE – His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew issued the following uplifting catechetical homily for the opening of the Great Lent: “Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord, Once again, with the will and grace of God the giver of all good things, we are entering Holy and Great Lent, the blessed period of fasting and repentance, of spiritual vigilance and journey with the Lord, as He comes to His voluntary passion, in order to reach the veneration of His splendid Resurrection and become worthy of our own passage from earthly things to “that…
Source: Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes an ever more common feature of our daily lives, the imperative to prevent abuse of it grows increasingly urgent. In several recent public addresses, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has spoken about the ethical issues surrounding AI, providing much-needed wisdom on this new and still largely unexplored field of human endeavor. His All-Holiness recently formally inaugurated the 4th International Ecological Well-Being Conference, “Artificial Intelligence, Technoethics, and Youth,” at the Marasleio School in Athens. In his address, he reminded those attending the conference that “the Orthodox tradition is an inexhaustible…
Source: Orthodox Christian Mission Center On Thursday, January 30, Fr. Martin Ritsi, Executive Director of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, led a delegation of Mission Center Board, staff, and missionaries at the funeral service commemorating the life and falling asleep of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania at the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Tirana, Albania. Fr. Martin––together with Board member and former missionary, Fr. Luke Veronis, and Assistant Missionary Director, Rev. Dr. Stephanos Ritsi––participated in the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, Funeral, and Interment services with Orthodox clergy from throughout the world. His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,…
Source: The National Herald Analysis by Theodore Kalmoukos The passing and particularly the Funeral Service of the late Archbishop Anastasios of Albania offers a unique opportunity to begin a new chapter in the restoration of the unity of the divided Orthodox Church in the world. Let me address the issue: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was the first to express his intention to travel to Albania for Anastasios’ funeral service—a decision both correct and commendable. In the face of the enigma and universal reality of death, everything else must take a secondary position, or relationships and stances must be reassessed. I am…
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America With great joy and emotion, His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America was informed today, following a related telegram from His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, of the unanimous election by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of His Grace Bishop Sevastianos of Zela as the new Metropolitan of Atlanta. The same joy and emotion fill the hearts of the entire hierarchy, the holy clergy, and the faithful of the Holy Archdiocese, especially those of the Holy Metropolis of Atlanta, which has gained a new shepherd in the person of the beloved Metropolitan…
Source: Peter Anderson, Seattle USA The meeting of the Synaxis of Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne was held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Istanbul, September 1-3. This meeting, which is held every three years, included more than one hundred bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate from throughout the world. At the beginning of the Synaxis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew gave an address. https://ec-patr.org/%e1%bc%90%ce%bd%ce%b1%cf%81%ce%ba%cf%84%ce%ae%cf%81%ce%b9%ce%bf%cf%82-%e1%bd%81%ce%bc%ce%b9%ce%bb%ce%af%ce%b1-%cf%84%e1%bf%86%cf%82-%ce%b1-%ce%b8-%cf%80%ce%b1%ce%bd%ce%b1%ce%b3%ce%b9%cf%8c-3/ The following are some of his observations: A major problem in this connection is the anthropological and moral confusion about the essentials of life, even among Christians. It is self-evident that we are concerned with the division of Christianity…