“I thank the most gracious God for the supreme gift of the priesthood: eight years as a deacon, four as a priest, 18 as a metropolitan and 35 as Ecumenical Patriarch, in the service of the entire Christian community under the dominion of the Lord, of the Great Church, of inter-Orthodox cooperation, inter-Christian and interreligious dialogues, peace and solidarity, the protection of the natural environment and the encounter between the Church and the contemporary world,
“The words Jesus alone were inscribed forever upon my soul and have served as a compass throughout my life. My spiritual father earnestly urged me, as I became a cleric, to look only to Jesus.
“My entire journey has been a life in dialogue,
“We await you with great joy
“Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew once again thanked the Archbishop of Albania for his presence and participation throughout the celebrations held on Imbros
“ungrateful children from the North.
“Other primates, although four or five years have passed since their election and enthronement, still delay fulfilling this duty toward the Church of Constantinople, while having visited other Churches – the fourth and fifth – bypassing the first.
“the order according to which every newly elected Orthodox primate, upon taking the helm of his Church, begins visiting the other Orthodox Churches, naturally starting with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
“the ingratitude of the Church of Russia – and not only of Russia – toward the Mother Church of Constantinople, from which they received the light of the Christian faith and enlightenment continues
“And not infrequently, the Mother Church received from these Churches a cup of ingratitude
“Constantinople “diminished itself and itself granted them ecclesiastical independence, known as autocephaly – it weakened itself in order to serve each Orthodox people.”
“The Church of Russia emerged in the 16th century, while the Churches of the Balkans emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries. And all of them, before their autocephaly was proclaimed, were part of the jurisdiction of our Ecumenical Patriarchate
“the Ecumenical Patriarch accused Local Churches of ingratitude and also made a thinly veiled reference to the Serbian primate, who has still not made a “peace visit” to the Phanar.
“his Church had “diminished itself” by granting autocephaly, only to receive a “cup of ingratitude” in return
“the black year of 1964
“saw no one but Jesus alone
“to teach the word of God
“until my last breath
“We cannot journey toward God while turning our backs on our fellow human beings.
“The Ecumenical Patriarchate has never been a spectator of the course of human affairs
“sterile monologue
“My entire journey has been a ‘life in dialogue,’
“supreme gift of the priesthood
“Jesus only
“He then asked me to set aside a day in September next year to officiate at the wedding of his son Konstantinos. Perhaps, if I am in good health
“Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking on the telephone with the Prime Minister to wish him a speedy recovery after a minor accident he had with his bicycle
“he had called Mitsotakis to wish him a speedy recovery following a minor bicycle accident