“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
“failure to make an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate since his election and enthronement
“taken up the mantle of the late Archbishop Anastasios and was continuing the work established by his predecessor with zeal, conscientiousness and fear of God
“ingratitude of the Church of Russia toward the Mother Church of Constantinople, from which they received the light of the Christian faith and civilization
“Our Ecumenical Patriarchate stood by the Church of Saint Mark, the Church of Alexandria
“instead of assisting Patriarch Theodore and his collaborators in their missionary work among the peoples of Africa, the Russian Orthodox Church has chosen to act in competition with them
“in an entirely uncanonical manner intruded into the canonical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and created a parallel jurisdiction
“uncanonical intrusion
“To be ‘peacemakers’ is to move away from what serves our own interests to what embraces the rights of others.
“Peace always—and ultimately—starts in the heart. It takes time, toil, and tears. Nevertheless, it is our only hope for survival as individuals, as nations, and as a species.
“peace was “an existential and spiritual demand.”
“History is replete with violence and cruelty, but never before has humanity been able to destroy so many lives and so much of the planet’s resources simultaneously.
“The Annunciation is a consoling teaching, a voice of optimism, a proclamation of joy—the glad tidings of God’s goodwill and peace on earth.
“May the joy of the Incarnation of the Word of God spread everywhere, so that peoples may advance in harmony and brotherhood and walk together toward enduring love, true justice, and the longed-for peace. Only these bring lasting and inalienable joy to humanity and to the nations of the earth—this is the message proclaimed by the Church: ‘Rejoice, O earth, with great joy; praise, O heavens, the glory of God!’
“Let us fervently implore the Virgin Mary tonight to drive wars away from our world. May she bring an end to bloodshed, atrocities, violence, and our inhumanity. Her virtue and intercession can restrain human wickedness, for she was deemed worthy by God to take an active part in the salvation of us all. Today, the Theotokos becomes the new earth and the new heaven, from which a new world arises—a world of beauty, virtue, and salvation.
“The new creation bestowed upon us by the risen Lord allows no room for hatred and enmity, only love, love without limits, compassion and understanding. By this shall all know that we are true disciples of the risen one: if we have love for one another and for all people. We must always proclaim peace and brotherhood among peoples and nations, not war, even if we baptize it as ‘holy’ to please an authoritarian secular power. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a ‘holy war’! Holiness and war are, by their very nature, mutually incompatible concepts incapable of coexisting in any form!
“the Orthodox Russian Federation turned against its Orthodox neighbor
“truth is under attack. The followers of the Risen Lord are once again being persecuted, especially in the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity, which continues to give birth to new martyrs of the faith in our own time.
“the Russian government is waging an unjust war against its “Orthodox neighbor,” Ukraine, with the full approval of the Moscow Patriarchate, which has even blessed the conflict as a “holy war.”
“Do not doubt that the Virgin Mary, as the protector of our Nation, as she has done until today, will grant us our survival in the future, here where the generations of the generations of our ancestors destined us to live and the centuries of history have placed us
“We must not give ourselves over to lethargy and sleep, like the disciples of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
“His All-Holiness encouraged the faithful to take up their cross and bear the burdens of daily life
“Just as our ancestors, fourteen hundred years ago, faced danger not in ignorance but in prayer and vigilance, so too we today, in the midst of various trials, wars, divisions and uncertainty, are called to stand — not sitting idly by, but hurrying forward in faith, hope and love
“We have come to ask for this intercession of the Theotokos today. For all of you, and for the entire world, which is torn apart by war conflicts, especially in the Middle East, but also in the long-suffering Ukraine, where the deadly war and mutual dismemberment have continued for four years, despite efforts to end them.
“Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew drew a connection between the historic event and the trials facing humanity today, emphasising the need to pray for peace
“Today, we have come once again to the historic Blachernae to conclude the festive cycle of these anniversary events, commemorating one of the most defining pages of the faith and history of our Nation. Here, at the Panagia of Blachernae, the City of Constantine found its salvation, not through the power of arms, but through the grace and protection of the Theotokos
“Through the diversity of languages and traditions, unity in Christ is highlighted, transcending all national distinction,
“It is a bond of blood and Spirit, a relationship of centuries-old historical and spiritual kinship .
“We therefore wish that our presence here today will be the preliminary message of what is to take place in October in Bulgaria, as an additional proof of the love of the Holy Great Church of Christ for this Saint, who, although he lived in ascetic obscurity on Mount Rila, became a source of sanctification not only for the Bulgarian people, but for the entire Orthodox Church
“Patriarch Bartholomew announced his visit to Bulgaria in October
“the arrival of the Primates a great honor for himself and his homeland
“has criticized Russian aggression and specifically condemned Patriarch Kirill’s efforts to give a veneer of religious sanction to the war