HIS ALL-HOLINESS, +BARTHOLOMEW,
Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome
Ecumenical Patriarch
His All-Holiness, +BARTHOLOMEW, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch is the 270th successor of the 2,000-year-old local Christian Church founded by Saint Andrew the Apostle. As a citizen of Turkey, Ecumenical Patriarch +BARTHOLOMEW's personal experience provides him a unique perspective on the continuing dialogue among the Christian, Islamic and Jewish worlds. He works to advance reconciliation among Roman Catholics, Muslim and Orthodox communities, such as in the former Yugoslavia, and is supportive of peace-building measures to diffuse global conflict in the region.
As Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch +BARTHOLOMEW occupies the First Throne of the Orthodox Christian Church and presides in a fraternal spirit among all the Orthodox Primates. The Ecumenical Patriarch has the historical and theological responsibility to initiate and coordinate actions among the Churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Finland, Estonia and numerous archdiocese in the old and new world. This includes the convening of councils and meetings, facilitating inter-church and inter-faith dialogues, and serving as the primary spokesman of Church unity as a whole. As Ecumenical Patriarch, he transcends every national and ethnic group on a global level and today is the spiritual leader of approximately 250 million faithful worldwide.
In his person, Ecumenical Patriarch +BARTHOLOMEW represents the memory of the life and sacrifice of the martyred Orthodox Church of the 20th century. After ascending the Ecumenical Throne in 1991, he journeyed throughout the Orthodox and non-Orthodox world bringing a message of reconciliation and renewed hope. He has presided over the restoration of the Autocephalous Church of Albania and Autonomous Church of Estonia and has been a constant source of spiritual and moral support to those traditionally Orthodox countries emerging from decades of wide-scale religious persecution behind the Iron Curtain. The Ecumenical Patriarch is a living witness to the world of Orthodoxy’s painful and redemptive struggle for religious freedom and to the innate dignity of humankind.
Ecumenical Patriarch +BARTHOLOMEW strives earnestly to prepare the Orthodox Church for its coming role as a mediator between East and West. In his capacity as Ecumenical Patriarch, three times he has convened the leaders of the self-governing Orthodox Churches around the globe, stimulating them to vigorously pursue solutions to the challenges of the new millennium, for example, by categorically condemning chauvinism and fanaticism. Together with Popes Benedict XIV and Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch +BARTHOLOMEW has supported the dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, as well as reconciliation and cooperation with Oriental Orthodox Christian Churches.
Për shumë vjet, o kryezot!