His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople received on Tuesday His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the Phanar district of Constantinople.
The visit took place as Patriarch John X wished to convey his Paschal greetings personally to the Ecumenical Patriarch, following an invitation from Patriarch Bartholomew.
The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch was welcomed by the clergy of the Patriarchal Court to the sound of bells. After venerating in the Patriarchal Cathedral of Constantinople, His Beatitude met with the Ecumenical Patriarch at the Patriarchal Residence, where an official meeting was held.
Present at the discussions from the Ecumenical Patriarchate were Metropolitans Emmanuel of Chalcedon and Gregory of Ankara, along with members of the Antiochian delegation, including Metropolitan Ephraim of Aleppo, Alexandretta and Dependencies and the newly ordained Bishop Paul of Tarsus, Adana and Alexandretta.
Following the meeting, the Ecumenical Patriarch hosted a dinner in honour of his guests.
Visit to Balukli and Chalcedon
On Wednesday, the two Primates visited Balukli Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring, where Patriarch John X served a Trisagion at the tomb of Patriarch Dimitrios I of Constantinople and prayed for the repose of all the predecessors to the patriarchal throne buried there.
The delegation of the Patriarchate of Antioch also visited Chalcedon, where they venerated at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and were welcomed by the clergy and faithful, including children from the local community, who offered flowers to the visiting Patriarch.
Patriarch John X’s visit to Constantinople is set to conclude on Thursday.
Photo: Ecumenical Patriarchate / Nikos Papachristou
