Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who returned late on Thursday afternoon, December 11, from a brief visit to Geneva, presided on Friday, 12 December 2025, at the feast-day celebration of Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of the Patriarchal and Stavropegial Skete dedicated to the Saint on Halki.
The homily was delivered by Hieromonk Meletios Stefanatos. At the conclusion of the Divine Service, the Ecumenical Patriarch blessed the kollyva in honor of Saint Spyridon and offered a Trisagion service for the repose of hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and lay faithful who either commemorated their name day on this date or were in any way connected with the sacred Skete of Halki.
In his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized that Saint Spyridon, whom the Church honors on this day, is one of the most beloved saints of Orthodoxy. He is venerated in a special way not only on Corfu, where his revered and incorrupt relic is preserved, but also in his homeland of Cyprus, where he served the Church as Bishop of Trimythous, as well as in Piraeus, of which he is the patron saint.
The Patriarch made specific reference to the celebratory events marking the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, and, on the occasion of the upcoming Christmas festivities, urged all those who are able to offer assistance to people in need.
“This momentous milestone for all of Christendom was duly and solemnly commemorated by the Holy Great Church of Christ, first and foremost through a Patriarchal and Synodal Divine Liturgy and the issuance of an official Patriarchal and Synodal Encyclical on the feast of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council; through the organization of scholarly conferences at the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and through the personal participation of Our Modesty in international conferences, as well as by the sending of Patriarchal Messages to numerous academic symposia worldwide.
The culmination of these festive commemorations was the pilgrimage to Nicaea, which we had jointly planned with the late Pope Francis, but which, due to his repose, was ultimately carried out on 28 November with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV of Rome, and with the participation of His Beatitude Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodore II, official representatives of our Beatitude brother Patriarchs John of Antioch and Theophilos of Jerusalem, as well as other Patriarchs of the Ancient Oriental Churches and representatives of the remaining Christian denominations and inter-church organizations from around the world.
All the aforementioned events shared a common purpose: not merely to honor the First Ecumenical Council as a significant historical event to be admired as a museum exhibit, but to proclaim that the Symbol of Faith, the canonical work, and the other dogmatic decisions of Nicaea constitute for us a living reality and a common inheritance of the one, undivided Church of the first millennium, upon which the unity of Christians can be forged.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch congratulated Bishop Kassianos of Arabissos, Abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity on Halki and head of the Skete, as well as his collaborators, commending them for expressing, in this spirit, their warm hospitality toward every visitor to the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity and its Theological School, “even during this difficult period of its comprehensive renovation, which we pray will be successfully completed within the coming year, and we also pray that it will not be the only joyful event that 2026 will bring for our nurturing School.”
Earlier, in his address of welcome, Bishop Kassianos warmly and reverently greeted the Ecumenical Patriarch upon his arrival at the festal Skete.
Among those present at the Divine Liturgy was George-Spyridon Mamalos, who was celebrating his name day and who heads the Office of Public Diplomacy of the Consulate General of Greece in Constantinople, along with a large congregation of faithful, mainly from the Princes’ Islands.
The celebration concluded with a reception at the Skete’s Archontariki, followed by a meal at the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity.
Photo: Mevlan Suleyman
