The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, on the occasion of the Feast of the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles, presided over the Divine Liturgy on Monday, June 30, 2025, at the namesake church in Feriköy.
In his address following the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Ecumenical Patriarch, among other things, expressed his heartfelt wish for an end to the bloodshed in the Middle East: “The relevance of the apostolic teaching is today felt in a most dramatic way, especially in the long-suffering region of the Middle East, where the Holy Apostles first began to proclaim the salvific and resurrective message of salvation. At this moment, our thoughts turn to the ancient Patriarchates of Antioch and Jerusalem, and to their Primates, our blessed brothers Patriarch John and Patriarch Theophilos, as well as to their devout clergy and Christ-loving flocks.
How closely their lives today resemble those of the Apostles, as described in the apostolic reading we heard this morning! It is as if we can hear our afflicted brothers echoing the apostolic words: “To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless… When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly.”
Together with them, we too supplicate and entreat and implore the Lord of mercy and compassion: to bring an end to the bloodshed, to grant rest in the Land of the Living to the souls of the victims, to comfort their loved ones, to grant healing to the wounded, and to bestow upon all strength, perseverance, and patience in their tribulations, together with the certainty that He will not allow them to be tested beyond their strength, but will also provide with the trial a way out, so that they may endure it.”
Earlier, the Ecumenical Patriarch had spoken of the significance of the Feast of the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles: “The teaching and tradition of the Apostles, which is contained in the New Testament, must be safeguarded as the apple of our eye, as a precious legacy. The essence of the apostolic faith and preaching is found in the Symbol of Faith, in the “Credo”, which we recite in every Divine Liturgy, and of which the first seven articles were formulated by the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. That Council is being especially honored this year by the Great Church of Christ, on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of its convocation.
We take this opportunity to share with you the hopeful messages brought from Rome by our Patriarchal Delegation, which attended, as is customary, the Thronal Feast of the Church of Old Rome yesterday. The delegation was led by our most reverend brother Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon. During their official meeting with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, he expressed his strong desire to continue, with the same fervor, and to deepen the dialogue between our two sister Churches, aiming toward the much-desired “unity of all,” for which we also unceasingly pray at every service.”
The Patriarch also recalled that in this very church, “our ever-memorable predecessor, Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios, was ordained to the priesthood and served here for a full twenty years as deacon and priest, and for eight of those years as Archieratical Overseer.” He expressed the appreciation of the Mother Church for Metropolitan Stefanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos, Supervisor of the Tatavla Region, “for the God-pleasing work he performs here as well, in complete obedience and fidelity to the voice and directives of the Mother Church.”
He also extended congratulations to the Church Committee, under the leadership of the Honorable Archon Exarch of the Great Church of Christ, Mr. Konstantinos Sandaltzidis, as well as to the members of the Philoptochos Society, through its President, the gracious Ms. Eleni Nioti, and to all their collaborators for their commendable work.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was warmly welcomed earlier by Metropolitan Stefanos of Kallioupolis and Madytos and by the President of the Church Committee.
Photo: Nikos Papachristou
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
