Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the top spiritual leader of the Orthodox world. He is also a figure of world importance, playing an increasingly important role in the fate of Ukraine and the world as a whole. It is very often the case that people like him remain “familiar strangers” to us as very important points concerning his efforts, way of life, and certain aspects of his worldview fall out of our view.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I was born in 1940 under the name Dimitrios Archontonis on the island of Imbros (now Gokceada, Turkey). In October 1991, he was elected the 270th archbishop of the church founded by St. Andrew 2000 years ago, and granted the titles of archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, which embodies the center of all of the world’s local Orthodox Churches, is a sixteen-century supranational and supraregional institution. Its spiritual responsibility for the development of the Christian faith among all peoples, regardless of their races and languages, means that its activities spread throughout the world, including the Americas and the Far East.
But on this path, paved for millennia, it confronted a very insidious rival, the Moscow Patriarchate, which seeks to grab the Ecumenical position, in fact, usurping it. In this piece, we will dwell on this point and beyond.
After the failed division of the churches of First and Second Rome in 1054, the Ecumenical Patriarchate pursued its role of providing unity, which it had already performed in the East since the first centuries of the Christian era, offering its service and solidarity to the churches of the East. In difficult times and until recently, the Ecumenical Patriarchate consulted with them regularly to settle issues that arose within and between the Churches. Often, especially during riots or times of persecution, the patriarchs of other Churches even resided in Constantinople, which became the site hosting the Holy Synod chaired by the Ecumenical Patriarch.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate has also sponsored intensive missionary efforts over the centuries. The most striking example, of course, is the Baptism of Rus during the reign of Askold, and then Olga and Volodymyr. The latest one is missionary work in Southeast Asia in the previous century. This missionary responsibility brought the Great Church a reputation as a “golden torch of Orthodoxy that preserves light without the decline of Christendom.”
Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been fully involved in the ecumenical movement. In January 1920, the encyclical of the Patriarch of Constantinople spoke of the need to create a League of Churches. This later materialized in 1948 through the Ecumenical Council of Churches: for Orthodoxy, it was not a universal Church in the canonical sense, but a site of exchange between Christians upset by divisions. The Ecumenical Patriarchate also participates in local ecumenical entities and presides over bilateral theological dialogues with various non-Orthodox Christian denominations, as well as with other monotheistic religions.
One of the most important tasks of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is to ensure the unity of the Autocephalous Orthodox Churches. Its primacy is precisely in the service of ecclesial communion, which implies responsibility and prerogatives in initiatives toward pan-Orthodox unity. This strong sense of responsibility and leadership before other peoples and before God explains the Patriarchate’s tireless efforts to consolidate Orthodox unity worldwide – efforts, which often proved complex due to national tensions and conflicts, as well as political differences. The history of the Church is complex, too, but despite all the errors of the hierarchs, bribery and under-the-rug games, it nevertheless succeeded in performing its high function. Among other things, it’s the function of restoring justice and interethnic reconciliation.
Thus, even during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made significant progress in reconciling the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. He was appointed member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches for 15 years (eight of which he was president) and he was elected member of the Central and Executive Commissions of the Council.
Pope Francis said that decades before the Second Vatican Council, the Ecumenical Patriarchate had set important milestones for the rapprochement of East and West churches 100 years ago, with a letter from the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople stating that when different churches are inspired by love and deliver it primarily in their judgment of others and in their relationships with one another, they will be able, instead of increasing and deepening existing differences, to seek to observe what is happening in these churches and gain a more accurate knowledge of them; and in preparation, when the opportunity arises, to render assistance, they will work and do many good deeds for their own glory and benefit and for the whole Christian body, as well as for the advancement of the question of union.
He acknowledges that “obstacles remain to the goal of restoring full communion, expressed by participation in one Eucharistic altar. At the same time, he says “I am convinced that by walking together in mutual love and continuing theological dialogue, we will achieve this goal. This hope is based on our common faith in Jesus Christ, sent by God the Father to unite all nations into one body and the cornerstone of the one and Holy Church, the holy temple of God, in which we are all living stones, each according to their special charisma or the ministry given by the Holy Spirit.” Moving away from complex rhetoric, the point is simple: it’s about being able to see a person in a person and a Christian in a Christian, and at the same time remaining true to one’s tradition and ready for dialogue and positive change.
Pope Francis points to fraternal relations with Patriarch Bartholomew. As a tradition, every November 30, on St. Andrew’s Day, the delegation of the Holy See participates in the Divine Liturgy presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at St. George’s Church in Phanar, the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, handed the Patriarch a message from Pope Francis on this “feast of the Apostle Andrew, beloved brother of St. Peter and patron of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.” And Pope Francis himself wrote a letter to Bartholomew, in which he noted, in particular, that “the reminder of mercy, the Apostolic zeal, and the perseverance of St. Andrew are a source of encouragement in these difficult and critical times. And giving glory to God also strengthens our faith and hope in those who have accepted into eternal life the holy martyr Andrew, whose faith has been preserved in trial. ”
The Pope mentions the presence of Patriarch Bartholomew next to him on October 20, 2020, during an interfaith prayer for peace set up in Rome by the community of Sant’Egidio. In the current international climate, marked by a coronavirus pandemic and numerous geopolitical crises, Francis emphasizes that conflicts and violence will never end until all peoples realize that they have a shared responsibility as brothers and sisters. In this regard, Christian churches, as well as other religious traditions, are obliged to be an example of dialogue, mutual respect and practical cooperation. In general, the basis of Bartholomew’s worldview and ministry is Christocentrism. After all, the adjective “Orthodox” makes sense only when combined with the noun “Christian.”
Patriarch Bartholomew preaches a general approach that perceives the centrality of Christ in both space and history, and in the ontological principles of existence, in the sense that in him God and man, the heavenly and the earthly worlds, are united.
Patriarch Bartholomew is an active participant in the project “Jesus Celebration 2033”, which raises the delicate issue of a common date for all Christians. To this day, the Orthodox Church celebrates it on a different day than the Catholic and Protestant churches do. Bartholomew reminded of the desire of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to unify that date. In the 1970s, a conference was held in Chambézy with the participation of scholars: “they convinced us that the Orthodox way of calculating the date is incorrect.” However, several Orthodox churches, including Moscow, rejected the findings of the study. Imposing it would lead to a split. Moreover, the issue remains so delicate for the Orthodox Churches that it was not discussed at the Great Orthodox Council in Crete in June 2016. “I am in a difficult situation, I must maintain inter-Orthodox unity, and this topic is still diverging,” Bartholomew said.
No less remarkable are the patriarch’s statements as regards Christmas, the holiday that ignoramuses consider the main one for all of Western Christianity. Meanwhile, all Christians have the true main holiday –Easter, as Bartholomew reminded. In his Christmas messages, the Ecumenical Patriarch calls for the renunciation of consumption in secular life… The patriarch is strict about the transformation of Christmas in our days: this holy day honors the ‘mystery of all times’ of the divine incarnation. According to Bartholomew, thus, the true Christian celebration of Christmas today is “an act of resistance to the secularization of life and the weakening, or death, of the realization of the mystery.” He has been nicknamed the “Green Patriarch” because he has been dealing with environmental issues of concern for at least 20 years, as a religious leader. In 2008, The Times included His Holiness in the list of the world’s 100 most influential figures as the one defining ecology as his spiritual responsibility. In 2000, the nonprofit organization Scenic Hudson handed the Ecumenical Patriarch the Visionary Award for Environmental Achievement at a ceremony in New York.
This aspect should be revealed in more detail, at least because his main geopolitical competitor, the Moscow Patriarchate, largely ignores environmental issues. And the level of environmental awareness there, to put it mildly, is lower than a sewer. Meanwhile, His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke and wrote extensively on environmental issues. Since 1992, he has suggested to the spiritual leaders of the Orthodox Churches that September 1 should become a day of prayer for the environmental protection. Patriarch Bartholomew said that “we are invited to take what is called in the Easter hymnography ‘another way of life.’ Because we are arrogant about creation. We refuse to see the hand of God in our planet’s oceans, in the trees of our continents, and in the animals that inhabit the earth.
We deny our own nature, which calls us to recognize the presence of God’s Word in creation if we are to become partakers “in the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). How can we ignore the cosmic significance of what the divine Word has acquired in the flesh? Why don’t we see created nature as a continuation of the body of Christ?” Patriarch Bartholomew went to great lengths to set up in 2016 the Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete. He also continues to promote freedom of religion and human rights, promote tolerance between the world’s different religions, and work toward international peace and the environment.
He is rightly called one of the greatest visionaries and peacemakers, as well as an apostle of love, peace, and reconciliation. But at the same time, the Ecumenical Patriarch is steadfast in purely fundamental issues. He warns against the risk of the Orthodox Church turning into a “federation or, worse, a “confederation of Protestant churches.” The Ecumenical Patriarch also points to the Russian Orthodox Church, which unilaterally disrupted Eucharistic communion in the Orthodox Church after Bartholomew’s recognition of the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine. “Any attempt to restore Eucharistic communion must be addressed to this Church and not to other Churches,” Bartholomew said.
According to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, there is no division within the Orthodox Church today. And although he is often accused of neo-papism, in fact, it’s the Moscow Patriarch that has claims to papism. The Primate of Constantinople said this in an interview with To Vima in January 2021. He continued: “I cannot allow Orthodox ecclesiology to be changed to an altar of lower interests. I have no right to take a step back. The word of truth is sharper than any knife. This is evidenced by history, sources, documents, and facts.” And although Moscow political instructors sporting robes spoke of the “sad neo-papism of Constantinople,” Patriarch Bartholomew reveals a tragic lack of self-awareness and presses the same accusation against Patriarch Kirill. Referring to the Russian Primate, Bartholomew asks, “So who is behaving like the ‘Pope of Orthodoxy?’ … Is it the one who remains true to his tradition, or the one who claims a position he doesn’t have? Never had, doesn’t have and never will have?”
The thing is that the entire diaspora around the world is canonically subordinated to Constantinople. That is why it was emphasized in the tomos of autocephaly of the OCU that the latter shall not have dioceses outside Ukraine, only being allowed to establish representations there, and only with the consent of local churches or the relevant dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Meanwhile, the Moscow Patriarchate seeks to become Ecumenical. And this is not just a fabrication by Kirill (Gundyaev), but an attempt to implement Stalin’s idea of the “Orthodox Vatican,” which the mustachioed tyrant expressed in 1947, when the Muscovites almost managed to persuade Patriarch Maxim V to flip to their side. The latter was accused of Russophilia and even Sovietophilia, in particular due to the trip of the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the autocephaly of the Russian Church. But on October 18, 1948, under pressure from the Turkish authorities and the Greek royal government, Patriarch Maxim was forced to retire.
It was then that the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate elected Archbishop Athenagoras (Spiro), who was the most suitable candidate for normalizing relations between Greece and Turkey and for opposing the Moscow Patriarchate, which remained under Soviet influence. Then the effort by the so-called Third Rome failed to seize the throne of the Second Rome failed. But Moscow, as we see, never abandoned the idea. And the bone across their throats is Ukraine, or rather Ukrainian autocephaly.
After all, the creation of the OCU as a canonical church, already partially recognized by the world Orthodoxy, overshadows Moscow’s imperial ambitions. These are the ambitions that Stalin’s ROC-MP seeks to realize, while forgetting about their direct duty – to preach the Risen Christ. But this is exactly what Patriarch Bartholomew constantly preaches.
