Basilica Ro.
Born Demetrios Archondonis in 1940 on the island of
Imvros (today, Gökçeada, Turkey), His All-Holiness Bartholomew was
elected in October 1991 as the 270th Archbishop of the
2000-year-old Church founded by St. Andrew, serving as Archbishop of
Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch.
The personal
experience and theological formation of the Ecumenical Patriarch provide
him with a unique perspective on ecumenical relations and environmental
issues. His All-Holiness has worked tirelessly for reconciliation among
Christian Churches and acquired an international reputation for raising
ecological awareness on a global level.
He has worked to advance
reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican
Communion, as well as other Christian confessions, through theological
dialogues and personal encounters with respective leaders in order to
address issues of common concern.
Closely involved with the World
Council of Churches, he has served on its Executive and Central
Committees and Faith and Order Commission. Moreover, he has initiated
numerous international meetings and conversations with Muslim and Jewish
leaders in an effort to promote mutual respect and religious tolerance
worldwide, but especially in the Middle East and the Mediterranean,
thereby proving a pioneer in interfaith encounters throughout the world.
Finally,
the Ecumenical Patriarch has presided over the historic restoration of
the Autocephalous Church of Albania and the Autonomous Church of
Estonia, also providing spiritual and moral support to many traditional
Orthodox countries emerging from decades of wide-scale religious
persecution behind the Iron Curtain.
A citizen of Turkey,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received his elementary and secondary
education in Imvros and Istanbul. After completing undergraduate studies
at the Theological School of Halki, Istanbul, His All-Holiness pursued
graduate studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute of the Gregorian
University in Rome, the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey (Switzerland) and
the University of Munich.
His doctoral dissertation was in the
field of Canon Law; he was a founding member of the Society of Canon Law
of the Oriental Churches. Ordained to the Diaconate in 1961 and to the
Priesthood in 1969, he served as Assistant Dean at the Theological
School of Halki (1968-72) before being appointed Personal Secretary to
his predecessor, the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios (1972-90), as
well as being elected Metropolitan of Philadelphia (1973) and, later,
Metropolitan of Chalcedon (1990).
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
holds numerous honorary doctorates, from prestigious academic
institutions such as the universities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras
and Ioannina (in Greece), Georgetown and Yale (in the USA), Flinders and
Manila (in Australasia), London, Edinburgh, Louvain, Moscow, Bologna
and Bucharest (in Europe). He speaks Greek, Turkish, Italian, German,
French and English; he is also fluent in classical Greek and Latin.
The
role of the Ecumenical Patriarch as the primary spiritual leader of the
Orthodox Christian world and transnational figure of global
significance continues to prove increasingly vital.
His
All-Holiness has co-sponsored international peace conferences, as well
as meetings on the subjects of racism and fundamentalism, bringing
together Jews, Christians, and Muslims for the purpose of generating
greater cooperation and mutual understanding. He has been invited to
address the European Parliament, UNESCO, the World Economic Forum, as
well as numerous national parliaments.
He has organized eight
international, inter-faith and inter-disciplinary symposia, as well as
numerous seminars and summits, to address ecological problems in the
rivers and seas of the world, initiatives earning him the title “Green
Patriarch” and the award of several significant environmental awards.
Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew’s tenure has been characterized by inter-Orthodox
cooperation, inter-Christian and inter-religious dialogue, as well as
by formal trips to Orthodox and Muslim countries seldom previously
visited.
He has exchanged numerous invitations with Church and
State dignitaries. His efforts to promote religious freedom and human
rights, his initiatives to advance religious tolerance among the world’s
religions, together with his work toward international peace and
environmental protection have justly placed him at the forefront of
global visionaries, peacemakers, and bridge-builders as an apostle of
love, peace, and reconciliation.
In 1997, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the United States Congress.
Tr by patriarchate.org