Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew returned late on Sunday evening, February 22, from a week-long visit to the Salzburg region of Austria, where he spent a period of rest and renewal. This is a practice he follows almost every year, accompanied by close collaborators.
During this year’s stay in Austria, a distinguished guest and co-hosted visitor was Archbishop Ioannis of Albania, accompanied by Metropolitan Anastasios of Korçë. The Patriarch’s delegation also included, in addition to the local hierarch, Metropolitan Arsenios of Austria, the Codicographer of the Holy and Sacred Synod, Mr. Evlogios, and the Venerable Archimandrite Kallinikos Chasapis, who serves in the United States.
While in Austria, the Patriarch and his entourage paid visits to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Salzburg, Msgr. Franz Lackner, as well as to the women’s monastery of Maria im Paradies. Metropolitan Arsenios of Austria is periodically invited to this monastery to offer lectures on themes of Orthodox theology and spirituality.
Upon their return to Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Archbishop of Albania, and the members of their delegations were welcomed at the airport by the Protosyncellus, Metropolitan Gregorios of Ankara.
