The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received on Tuesday, August 29, at the Phanar, the participants of the scientific meeting “Partnerships in Action: towards One Earth, One Family, One Future”.
The Ecumenical Patriarch, welcoming them to the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, referred to the historical development of the institution, its multidimensional ministry, as well as the canonically defined and sanctified through the centuries-old ecclesiastical tradition and practical responsibilities of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
He made particular reference to the convening of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016, which, as he noted, renewed Orthodox Christian witness and defended the importance of Christian values as an effective means of addressing today’s global challenges.
“This is an essential part of our ministry and mission in the modern world, where we promote inter-Christian and interreligious dialogue, religious tolerance, religious freedom, and a culture of solidarity at a time of turmoil, division, and war,” said the Ecumenical Patriarch, who noted that the Ecumenical Patriarchate is at the forefront of promoting inter-Christian dialogue, but also dialogue between Christianity and the other two monotheistic religions, Judaism and Islam. He also referred to the initiatives of the Mother Church to raise awareness among the world community about the need to protect the natural environment and creation as a whole, as, as he stressed, the ecological crisis primarily affects the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. He made special reference to the concern of the Patriarchate, in the context of the global refugee crisis, for the protection of the rights and dignity of children, recalling that he proclaimed 2017 as the “Year of Protection of the Sanctity of Childhood”.
“We have a moral responsibility to look carefully at how we behave in the world, the policies we support in society, and the lifestyle we adopt as individuals. People are not isolated. On the contrary, we are interconnected and interdependent as people, as a planet, as a family,” the Ecumenical Patriarch stressed.
Concluding his greeting, he congratulated the International Organization “Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities”, with the support of which the Meeting was organized, and thanked all those who participated in it. He expressed his satisfaction with the important contribution of Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, “prominent hierarch of the Ecumenical Throne and a leading figure of the interreligious initiatives of the Church of Constantinople, for his tireless efforts in this field and for the excellent organization of this meeting under the auspices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
During their visit to the Phanar, the participants visited the Patriarchal Church, where they were informed by Patriarchal Deacon Ieronymos Sotirelis about its history and the holy relics kept in it.
Photos: Nikos Papachristou / Ecumenical Patriarchate
