Abstract
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is now the longest-serving Patriarch of Constantinople ever. In October 2021, to mark 30 years of his patriarchal tenure, he visited the University of Notre Dame to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Laws. For the occasion, John Chryssavgis, a widely respected Orthodox theologian who serves as archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, prepared an introductory portrait of Bartholomew, focusing on his deep ecumenical commitment. Chryssavgis has now collected in one volume this affectionate and informative essay, plus an address on climate change given by Batholomew when he received his honorary degree, together with 11 ecumenical joint statements, seven made with successive Bishops of Rome, one with Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, two with Archbishop Welby of Canterbury, and one on the ‘Global Challenge’ made in 2021 with both Pope Francis and Archbishop Welby when the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) met in Glasgow. This little publication demonstrates Patriarch Bartholomew’s remarkable ability to work creatively with other church leaders in the service of peace, reconciliation and care for creation.
Bartholomew’s situation as a Christian leader is unique. The Phanar, which has been home to the patriarchate since the sixteenth century, is an historic Christian and Jewish enclave in a Muslim city and country. Although the Orthodox seminary at Halki was forcibly closed, and the magnificent church of the Hagia Sophia was turned by the Turkish regime from a secular museum into a mosque, Bartholomew has restored monasteries and churches and strengthened the security of the patriarchate’s position. Perhaps his greatest achievement as Ecumenical Patriarch was to convene, after many years of preparation, the Holy and Great Council held in Crete in 2016. Despite the absence of the Russians, this has proved a powerful source of new life and teaching for Orthodox Christians throughout the world. Bartholomew was also responsible for the process that led to a statement on ‘the social ethos of the Orthodox Church’, For the Life of the World (2020), which he himself has compared to Fratelli Tutti (2020), Pope Francis’s Encyclical Letter on Fraternity and Social Friendship.
The co-authored statements in this little book circle round several key themes. They were made to promote dialogue, to strengthen reconciliation, to bear common witness, and to encourage Christians to work in support of the marginalized, especially refugees. The urgent need to co-operate in care for creation pervades them all. Unfortunately, since the collection of statements was prepared for an occasion in 2021, it has nothing up to date about the war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, Bartholomew’s passionate commitment to peace, reconciliation and care for creation – alongside that of other church leaders – is a sign of hope in very dark times.