On the afternoon of Holy Thursday, April 9, 2026, at the Patriarchal Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Service of the Holy Passion of our Lord.
According to tradition, the Ecumenical Patriarch read the first of the twelve Gospel readings. He was followed by the concelebrating Metropolitans: Joseph of Proikonnesos, Meliton of Philadelphia, Eirenaios of Myriophyton and Peristasis, Chrysostomos of Myra, and Ioakeim of Prousa.
Subsequently, Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios, Grand Archimandrite Iakovos, Grand Syncellus Ieronymos, and Archimandrite Kaisarios Chronis read the next passages, while the twelfth Gospel reading was delivered, in accordance with the order, by Grand Archdeacon Alexandros.
During the procession of the Crucified, the Patriarchal Church and the entire Patriarchal complex were enveloped in darkness, as the emotion of all those present reached its peak.
Among those in attendance were Athanasia Iliaki, Consul representing the Consul General of Greece in Constantinople, Miltiadis Nikolaidis, Ambassador of Greece to France, Archons of the Great Church of Christ, and a large number of faithful from Constantinople and abroad.
On the morning of Holy Thursday, the Grand Ecclesiarch celebrated Vespers and the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil at the Patriarchal Church, assisted by the Second-in-Rank, Fr. Barnabas.
Photos: Nikos Papachristou
