Mount Athos and our Patriarchate are not separate things, they are not two church entities independent of each other, but Mount Athos is a part, a dear and integral part of the wider jurisdiction of the Mother Church of Constantinople.
And there is no distinction between Mount Athos and Constantinople, but the two entities work together and pull in the same direction,” said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his speech after the Divine Liturgy, over which he presided today, Friday, December 6, at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cibali, which has been granted to the Ukrainian Community of Constantinople for the liturgy.
The Ecumenical Patriarch made a special reference to Mount Athos due to the presence of Athonite monks at the temple as well as his recent pilgrimage visit to Mount Athos, during which he had announced the canonization of four important figures of Athonite monasticism.
The Ecumenical Patriarch said that one of the Athonite monks would be Saint Ieronymos Simonopetritis and three more would be included in the list of recognized saints of the Orthodox Church.
In his speech, the Ecumenical Patriarch referred to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, the patron saint of children and sailors, wishing that Saint Nicholas would always protect those who traveled by sea to feed their families.