LAST UPDATE: 17:45
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was released this morning from George Washington University Hospital where he spent a night on medical advice. He will resume the schedule of his Apostolic Visit.
Events and meetings scheduled for today include a meeting with President Joseph Biden at the White House; a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department; and a visit to the Turkish Embassy at the invitation of Turkish Ambassador to the US, Hasan Murat Mercan.
The Ecumenical Patriarch will deliver a speech for the Museum of the Bible via videoconference. In the evening, the Ecumenical Patriarch will attend a dinner at Georgetown University hosted by its President, John J. DeGioia, and Wilton Cardinal Gregory of Washington, DC.
Earlier today Archbishop Elpidophoros announced via Twitter that the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was released from the hospital.
I am delighted to announce to all that our spiritual father, His All-Holiness was just released from hospital. He is feeling well and is ready to continue his official Apostolic Visit.
— Elpidophoros (@Elpidophoros) October 25, 2021
After the morning service at St. Sophia Cathedral, the Archbishop of America visited together with Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon the Ecumenical Patriarch.
As he said, at noon he met a completely different man from the one he had seen in the morning. “He was cheerful, happy, had a sense of humor and we were even told that he wanted to eat things that a classic patient does not eat, and we asked the doctors and they told us that he is not sick at all and can eat whatever he wants,” said Archbishop Elpidophoros.
For his part, the Ecumenical Patriarch acknowledged that he must make a better management of his energy and time to take care of his health.
As the Archbishop of America pointed out, “the Patriarch’s sacrificial disposition to meet his obligations and the expectations of his position often make him neglect his health, but he should no longer do that, and we convinced Him, and I think he understood”.
Finally, Archbishop Elpidoforos attributed the hospitalization of the Patriarch to excessive fatigue, saying that “it was the accumulation of fatigue of all these days that preceded in Constantinople with the celebrations of the thirtieth anniversary of his Patriarchy and the previous days where the Patriarch traveled to Rome and in other cities.
However, what really strained him was the long flight and immediately after, as our Patriarch usually does, he started his official program and that tired him. This fatigue caused him to feel unwell on Sunday morning and so for precautionary reasons he was taken to the hospital.”
Biden’s personal interest in the Patriarch’s health
US President Joe Biden has expressed personal interest in the state of health of the Ecumenical Patriarch.
It is recalled that the American president has a meeting scheduled with Patriarch Bartholomew on Monday at the White House, according to the Holy Archdiocese of America.
According to information from ANA-MPA, Joe Biden’s physician contacted the White House, asking to be informed about the progress of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s health and offering his services if necessary.