Ecumenical Patriarch: “My entire journey has been a life in dialogue” (PHOTOS+VIDEO) | Orthodox Times (en)

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated the 65th anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate on Thursday, August 13, 2026, on his native island of Imbros, joined by the Primates of the Churches of Alexandria and Albania.

On Thursday morning, a Patriarchal Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the Metropolitan Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.

Concelebrating were Pope and Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa and Archbishop Ioannis of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania. Also participating were Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, Metropolitan Meliton of Philadelphia, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Myra, Metropolitan George of Guinea, and Archimandrite Bartholomew, Abbot of the Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos.

Among those attending the service were Metropolitan Kyrillos of Imbros and Tenedos; Roman Catholic Archbishop Massimiliano Palinuro of Constantinople; clergy; Monk Tarasios of Koutloumousiou, representing the Holy Community of Mount Athos; and other Athonite monks.

Also present were Athanasios Martinos, President of the Brotherhood of Archons “Panagia Pammakaristos” and Ecumenical Grand Benefactor, together with Vice President George Prokopiou and numerous Archons. The Greek government was represented by Maira Myrogianni, Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy. A large number of the Patriarch’s fellow Imbriots and friends of the island also attended the celebration.

Before the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated a Trisagion for the repose of his late elder and benefactor, Metropolitan Meliton of Chalcedon.

Metropolitan Meliton served as Metropolitan of Imbros and Tenedos for 13 years and played a decisive role in the future Ecumenical Patriarch’s ecclesiastical journey.

It was Metropolitan Meliton who, on August 13, 1961, ordained the young Dimitrios Archontonis to the first degree of the priesthood, the diaconate, and gave him the ecclesiastical name Bartholomew.

Sixty-five years later, the Ecumenical Patriarch commemorated that milestone in the place where his ecclesiastical ministry began, surrounded by fellow Orthodox Primates, hierarchs, clergy, monastics and faithful.

Ecumenical Patriarchate “has never been a spectator”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered an emotional address on his native island of Imbros on Thursday, August 13, as he marked the 65th anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate.

Looking back to August 13, 1961, the Ecumenical Patriarch recalled his ordination by the late Metropolitan Meliton of Imbros and Tenedos, his spiritual father, protector and benefactor. He particularly remembered the words “Jesus only,” inspired by the Gospel account of the Transfiguration, which, he said, became a lifelong compass for his ministry.

The Patriarch spoke warmly of the formative influence of both Imbros and the Theological School of Halki, where his faith, love of learning and appreciation for Orthodox liturgical and theological tradition were cultivated. He also paid tribute to the people of Imbros who remained on the island through difficult decades and preserved its churches, language and identity. Expressing optimism about the island’s future, he encouraged younger generations to contribute actively to maintaining a sustainable Greek Orthodox presence there.

Reflecting on his 65 years of ecclesiastical service—eight as a deacon, four as a priest, 18 as a Metropolitan and 35 as Ecumenical Patriarch—Bartholomew expressed gratitude to God for the “supreme gift of the priesthood.”

He described his ministry as one devoted to pan-Orthodox cooperation, inter-Christian and interreligious dialogue, peace and solidarity, the protection of the natural environment, and engagement between the Church and the contemporary world.

“My entire journey has been a ‘life in dialogue,’” the Ecumenical Patriarch declared, stressing that he has always regarded introversion, isolation, self-sufficiency and “sterile monologue” as incompatible with the Orthodox faith.

For Patriarch Bartholomew, he said, Orthodoxy is fundamentally a call to communion, encounter with others, solidarity and peaceful coexistence. These convictions, he added, have inspired initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation in addressing the major challenges of the contemporary world.

Patriarch Bartholomew also emphasized the wider mission of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, insisting that the Church cannot remain detached from the challenges facing humanity.

“The Ecumenical Patriarchate has never been a spectator of the course of human affairs,” he said, rejecting the notion that engagement with the world necessarily leads to the secularization of the Church.

Quoting Christ’s words that His followers are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world,” the Patriarch reiterated a principle he has frequently invoked: “We cannot journey toward God while turning our backs on our fellow human beings.”

Concluding his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch thanked Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and Archbishop Ioannis of Albania for joining him on Imbros, along with the hierarchs, clergy, monastics, Archons, representatives of institutions, teachers, young people and faithful who attended the anniversary celebrations.

He pledged that, God willing, he would continue returning to his birthplace “until my last breath,” as a humble pilgrim, drawing renewed strength from the island where his faith and vocation first took root.

Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon: Patriarch Bartholomew’s 65 years are a testament to service and sacrifice

Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon reflected on the significance of the 65th anniversary of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s ordination to the diaconate, emphasizing that the occasion celebrates not an office or enthronement, but a lifetime defined by service.

Addressing the Ecumenical Patriarch during the anniversary celebrations on Imbros, Metropolitan Emmanuel noted that the choice to commemorate his diaconal ordination carries profound ecclesiastical meaning.

“We are not celebrating an elevation, an enthronement, or the assumption of an office. We are celebrating the ordination to the diaconate, that is, the first degree of the priesthood,” he said.

He stressed that, in the consciousness of the Church, a deacon never ceases to be a servant, even when he later receives the episcopal omophorion or ascends to the First Throne of Orthodoxy. He recalled Christ’s words in the Gospel of Luke: “I am among you as one who serves.”

Metropolitan Emmanuel described Patriarch Bartholomew’s 65 years of ministry as a path marked by sacrifice, perseverance and tireless service.

He said that the Mother Church of Constantinople knows that its honor has always been measured by sacrifice, while its faithful recognize in Patriarch Bartholomew “the father who never sought rest.”

Metropolitan Emmanuel also highlighted the presence of Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and Archbishop Ioannis of Albania alongside the Ecumenical Patriarch, saying their participation gave the anniversary a broader pan-Orthodox dimension.

He described Patriarch Theodore as representing the Apostolic Throne of St. Mark and its extensive missionary work across Africa, while Archbishop Ioannis represented the witness of a Church that had “risen from the ruins.”

Concluding, Metropolitan Emmanuel pointed to the concelebration of the three Primates as a powerful manifestation of ecclesial unity.

Archbishop of Albania: “We have witnessed your efforts for the unity of the Church”

In his address, Archbishop Ioannis expressed his “deep joy and sincere emotion” at being present in the Ecumenical Patriarch’s birthplace and concelebrating in the same church where Bartholomew was ordained a deacon exactly 65 years earlier, on August 13, 1961, by the late Metropolitan Meliton of Imbros and Tenedos.

The Archbishop noted that the gathering, just days before the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, allowed those present to share not only in the Patriarch’s joy but also in his profound longing to return to his native island.

Drawing on Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, Archbishop Ioannis reflected on the meaning of homecoming and the historic connection between Imbros and Tenedos.

“Longing for return, according to Homer, is not simply a memory, nor a passing nostalgia. It is a force that sets one’s entire being in motion,” he said.

Turning to the church where Patriarch Bartholomew received the first degree of the priesthood, Archbishop Ioannis said that two forms of longing had converged there 65 years ago: love for one’s birthplace and the response to the call of the heavenly Father.

“Here you received the first degree of the priesthood. Not to be served, but to serve; not to seek human glory, but to shepherd the spiritual flock of the Church of Christ,” he said.

Archbishop Ioannis observed that no one present at the ordination in 1961 could have known where the young deacon’s path would lead. That journey would ultimately bring him to the Ecumenical Throne.

“Today, after sixty-five years, we do not simply praise a man; we praise and thank God, because time has revealed the wisdom of His Providence and confirmed the calling,” he stressed.

The Archbishop highlighted Patriarch Bartholomew’s contribution to major ecclesiastical issues, making particular reference to the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church held in Crete in 2016 after decades of preparation.

“We have been witnesses to your efforts for the unity of the Church, to your labors and struggles. And what we have seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears, we testify to today with gratitude,” Archbishop Ioannis said.

He recalled that the Orthodox Church of Albania participated in the Council with what he described as a full awareness of its historical and theological responsibility.

Archbishop Ioannis also referred to the restoration of Orthodox worship in historic places where it had been absent for decades, including Cappadocia and Panagia Soumela, as well as the reopening of Greek schools on Imbros.

He praised the Ecumenical Patriarchate for making the voice of Orthodoxy heard internationally through its advocacy of peace, reconciliation and the protection of God’s creation.

A substantial part of Archbishop Ioannis’s address was devoted to the role of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the restoration of the Orthodox Church of Albania following decades of state atheism and persecution.

He recalled that churches and monasteries had been closed, looted, repurposed or destroyed, while worship had been prohibited by law and clergy had faced imprisonment, exile, persecution and martyrdom.

“The Church of Albania had been persecuted, devastated and appeared dead; but it had not died,” Archbishop Ioannis said.

At that critical moment, he continued, the Mother Church of Constantinople sent the late Archbishop Anastasios to Albania as Patriarchal Exarch. Anastasios would subsequently become the central figure in the reconstruction of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania.

Archbishop Ioannis described his late predecessor as another bond linking the three Primates gathered on Imbros: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and Archbishop Ioannis himself.

Although Archbishop Anastasios is “no longer physically among us,” he said, his work has left an indelible mark on their Churches.

“We are convinced that his soul rejoices at seeing the Primates of the Churches meet in a spirit of brotherhood and unity,” he said.

Archbishop Ioannis recalled that Anastasios had repeatedly identified the gatherings of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches as one of the most important achievements of Patriarch Bartholomew’s tenure.

He also highlighted Anastasios’ connection with the Patriarchate of Alexandria, where he carried out his mature missionary ministry, and with Constantinople, the Mother Church that later sent him to Albania as Patriarchal Exarch.

Concluding his address, Archbishop Ioannis conveyed the love, gratitude, prayers and best wishes of the clergy and faithful of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania.

“The Church of Albania has tasted and continues to taste the fruits of your labors, your love and your prayers,” he told the Ecumenical Patriarch.

Using the biblical image of Aaron and Hur supporting the arms of Moses, Archbishop Ioannis pledged that the Church of Albania would seek to support efforts toward peace, reconciliation and ecclesiastical unity.

“We assure you that the place we wish to occupy is that of Aaron and Hur, who, when the hands of Moses grew heavy, held them up, one on one side and the other on the other; that is, the place of those who support, of those who work for the peace, reconciliation and unity of the Church.”

Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria honors Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s 65 years of Ministry

On the eve of the 65th anniversary of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s ordination to the diaconate, Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria paid tribute to the Ecumenical Patriarch’s long ministry, while highlighting the historic and enduring bonds between the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Alexandria.

The remarks were delivered following Great Vespers for the Leave-taking of the Feast of the Transfiguration and the Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos at the Church of Saint George in Agioi Theodoroi, the Ecumenical Patriarch’s native village on Imbros.

Patriarch Theodore presided over the service, with Archbishop Ioannis of Albania also presiding, while Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew attended prayerfully. Following the dismissal, Patriarch Bartholomew introduced the two Primates to the congregation, thanking them warmly for their presence and referring to both their ministries and the challenges facing their Churches.

In his address, Patriarch Theodore looked back to the early years of Patriarch Bartholomew’s ecclesiastical ministry and recalled his spiritual mentor, the late Metropolitan Meliton of Chalcedon.

He referred in particular to Metropolitan Meliton’s words at Bartholomew’s ordination to the priesthood in 1969 at the Theological School of Halki. According to Patriarch Theodore, Metropolitan Meliton had identified selfishness and pride as the roots of sin and offered the young cleric a spiritual principle that would guide him throughout his life: “Empty yourself. Humble yourself. And above all, make room for divine Grace.”

Patriarch Theodore said those words had been fulfilled throughout Bartholomew’s long ministry, describing his service as one of self-offering to Christ and the Church.

He also referred to Patriarch Bartholomew’s 35 years at the helm of the Ecumenical Throne, praising the manner in which he has guided the Church “with meekness but also with an adamantine resolve” amid the challenges of the contemporary world.

The Patriarch of Alexandria devoted a substantial part of his address to the centuries-old relationship between the two ancient Patriarchates.

“The Throne of Saint Andrew and the Throne of Saint Mark have journeyed together since the first centuries of Christianity,” Patriarch Theodore said, pointing to their common struggles in defense of Orthodox doctrine and their shared witness to the Resurrection.

He recalled historic figures who connected Alexandria and Constantinople, particularly the Cretan Patriarchs Meletios Pegas and Cyril Lucaris. He noted that Meletios Pegas, while serving as Patriarch of Alexandria, also became locum tenens of the Ecumenical Throne, while Cyril Lucaris was transferred from Alexandria to Constantinople, where he ultimately gave his life for his faith.

Patriarch Theodore also reflected on his own Cretan origins and spiritual ties to the historic Monastery of Agarathos, describing Crete, Alexandria and Constantinople as being united through the centuries by “a thread of love, sacrifice and unwavering devotion to the Mother Church.”

At the conclusion of the gathering, Patriarch Theodore presented Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with a commemorative silver tray depicting the Holy Trinity.

Photos: Nikos Papachristou / Ecumenical Patriarchate