The Ecumenical Patriarchate has served as a “spiritual companion and point of reference in difficult decisions and major challenges” throughout the 155-year history of the Philoptochos Brotherhood of Men of Thessaloniki (FAATH), its President Giorgos Konstantinidis stated on Monday evening.
Addressing the annual cutting of the Vasilopita of the Brotherhood, held in the presence of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Konstantinidis described the Patriarch’s attendance as a supreme honor and an invaluable blessing, noting that it bestowed a special historical and symbolic significance on the gathering.
“For the Philoptochos Brotherhood, the Ecumenical Patriarchate was never merely an institutional beacon of Orthodoxy,” he emphasized. “It has been our spiritual mother, a constant point of reference, and a source of inspiration and guidance.”
Konstantinidis recalled that the Brotherhood was founded in 1871, during a period of intense social, national, and spiritual change, in a multiethnic and multireligious Thessaloniki that was still under Ottoman rule. In that historical context, he noted, the Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate played a decisive role not only in preserving the faith, but also in fostering social cohesion, education, and charitable care.
“The Brotherhood was created as an expression of ecclesiastical consciousness, with a clear orientation toward philanthropy, solidarity, and practical love for one’s neighbor,” he said, adding that from its very first steps it operated within the framework of the Mother Church, under the blessing and guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the local ecclesiastical authorities.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, FAATH developed a wide range of charitable activities, supporting the poor, assisting orphans and widows, contributing to education, and functioning as a pillar of social cohesion for the Greek Orthodox community of Thessaloniki. Throughout this period, Konstantinidis noted, the Brotherhood maintained a close spiritual bond with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which then constituted the cornerstone of the ecclesiastical and national identity of Orthodox Christians.
The Brotherhood also remained active throughout the turbulent 20th century, marked by the Balkan Wars, the World Wars, the liberation of Thessaloniki, the Asia Minor Catastrophe, and the arrival of thousands of refugees. “In all these critical moments, the Brotherhood was present, and its relationship with the Ecumenical Patriarchate remained alive and meaningful,” Konstantinidis stressed.
He concluded by noting that the members of the Brotherhood bear the responsibility of continuing this historic course with unity, humility, and spiritual vigilance, guided at all times by the principles of Orthodoxy and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Prior to the cutting of the Vasilopita, a lecture was delivered by Emeritus Professor of Law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Athanasios Kaises, entitled “Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Dystopia?” The event opened with the chanting of the Apolytikion of Saint Basil, “Εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν,” by members of the Psaltic Notation Workshop, under the direction of choirmaster Sotiris Despotis, followed by the Polychronion for the Ecumenical Patriarch.
The event, held in the Ceremonial Hall of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, was attended by members of the government, metropolitans, representatives of regional and local authorities, members of the academic community and various institutions, as well as members of the Philoptochos Brotherhood and the general public.
