On November 2, 1991, all eyes of the Christian world and beyond were on the Phanar, the heart of Orthodoxy, where the enthronement of the 270th Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch took place. On that day a bright personality would officially take the helm of the Mother Church, a personality who was to spiritually brighten the Ecumenical Throne for almost three decades, gaining the love and respect of Orthodox Christians and worldwide appreciation and recognition.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrates the 29th anniversary since his enthronement as Ecumenical Patriarch and continues to be a beacon of love, unity and hope for our Orthodox Church.
On October 22, 1991, he was unanimously elected Ecumenical Patriarch.
Since his election as Ecumenical Patriarch, he has been working to strengthen pan-Orthodox unity and cooperation. For this purpose, he established the Synaxes of the Orthodox Prelates and paid many visits to them, as well as invited and welcomed them to the Phanar. The Ecumenical Patriarch convened the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church, which took place in Crete in June 2016, and presided over its work. He also promotes the ecumenical dialogue with the other Christian Churches and denominations, visiting their headquarters and participating in inter-Christian conferences and anniversary events.
During his tenure, he was received by many heads of state and government, many of whom officially visited the Ecumenical Patriarch at the seat of Ecumenical Patriarchate. He has been invited to deliver speeches at the European Parliament (1994, 2008), the Council of Europe (2007), UNESCO, the Prague Forum 2000 (2019), the Davos World Economic Forum (1999, 2020) and others.
He has been awarded the highest honors of many states, including the Congressional Gold Medal, as well as the title of honorary doctor at many universities around the world.
He visited most of the dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate all over the world, blessing and supporting the pastoral work carried out there. Moreover, following his suggestion, new Holy Metropolises were founded by the Holy Synod.
On his initiative, the “Yearbook of the Ecumenical Patriarchate” was published as early as the 1990s, and the official informative magazine of the Mother Church, “Orthodoxy,” was republished.
Immediately after his election, he is concerned about the reopening of the Halki seminary, which has remained “silent” since 1971, and he continues his efforts to attain this just objective.
At the same time, he works to raise the awareness of States and peoples with the aim of preserving Creation and protecting the natural environment, convening, among others, ecological seminars in Halki and many international symposia in different parts of the world.
