Last updated on Monday, November 20, 2006
A. The Ecumenical Patriarchate is the honorary and spiritual centre of the Orthodox Church throughout the world, tracing its history to the Day of Pentecost and the earliest Christian communities founded by the Apostles of Jesus Christ.
A. The title "Ecumenical Patriarch" dates from the sixth century and belongs exclusively to the Archbishop of Constantinople. But his role was defined as early as the 4th century. At the 4th Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451), the Archbishop of Constantinople was given "equal privileges" to the Bishop of Rome.
A. In 330, the Roman Emperor Constantine transferred the imperial capital to the small city of Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople or "New Rome." Due to its political and historical importance, the city quickly assumed political and ecclesiastical prominence, with all of the (seven) Great Councils of the early Church held either in or near Constantinople.
A. The Ecumenical Patriarch presides in historical honor among all Orthodox Primates, as "first among equals." He also traditionally serves as the focal point and spokesman for Orthodox Church unity, convening inter-Orthodox councils, as well as inter-Church and inter-faith dialogues.
A. The most ancient Patriarchates, in an order of seniority already established by the 5th century, comprise Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. In the 16th century, the Ecumenical Patriarch raised the Church of Moscow to the rank of Patriarchate, as occurred earlier with the Church of Serbia in the 14th century as well as later with the Churches of Romania in the 19th century and Bulgaria in the 20th century.
A. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has provided support for countries, which were long under the oppression of the Iron Curtain. He has visited Moslem nations, previously never visited by Christian heads of Churches, advocating religious tolerance. Moreover, his pioneering initiatives for the preservation of the natural environment have earned him the title "Green Patriarch."
He organized five environmental seminars at Halki in co-sponsorship with His Royal Highness Prince Philip (1994-1998). He also established the Religious and Scientific Committee, which has organized six international, interfaith and interdisciplinary seaborne symposia to date: Patmos and the Mediterranean (1995), the Black Sea (1997), the Danube River (1999), the Adriatic Sea (2002), the Baltic Sea (2003), and the Amazon River (2006).
A. Hagia Sophia is one of the architectural wonders of the early Church. It housed some of the most magnificent mosaics, some of which survive to this day, and was the center of impressive liturgical worship. It was here that Prince Vladimir in the 10th century sent his envoys to witness the liturgy, as a result of which all of Russia was Christianized. Converted to a mosque in 1453, today it is a museum.
A. In October, 1991. Patriarch Bartholomew (b. 1940) was elected the 270th Archbishop of the historic throne of Constantinople, the Byzantine name for present-day Istanbul.
A. While His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is fluent in seven modern languages, the formal language of the services is in fact the Greek of the New Testament. It is the same language adopted by the Church Fathers and used in official texts of the Orthodox Church through the centuries.
A. 300 million. Geographically, its primary area of distribution lies along the coast of the (northeast) Mediterranean, in Eastern and Northern Europe, as well as in the Middle East. But the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is worldwide.
A. Since the time of Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI, the two Churches embarked on a "dialogue of love," which has expanded into a "dialogue of truth" since 1980. Today, an international theological dialogue discusses areas of agreement and division.
A. That year marked the official division, known as the "great schism" between the two Churches, the result of a gradual estrangement over centuries for cultural, political and theological reasons.
A. In 1204, the 4th crusade pillaged Constantinople, leaving indelible scars in the memory of Eastern Christians with regard to the Western Church. In a gracious gesture of love, the late Pope John Paul II formally apologized for this lawless sacking.
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Wednesday, June 05, 2013
Οn Saturday, June 1, 2013, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, together with members of the Holy and Sacred Synod and other Hierarchy of the Ecumenical Throne, welcomed His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch to the Phanar. Patriarch John of Antioch was making his first stop in his Irenic Visitations following his election last December. Read more...
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