Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Ecumenical Patriarch describes St John of Rila as ‘a golden coin bearing God’s imprint’

“St John himself is a golden coin bearing God’s imprint,” His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said on Monday at Rila Monastery in Bulgaria, where he concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria. Referring to the saint’s image on Bulgarian currency, Patriarch Bartholomew drew on a saying attributed to St Ignatius the God-Bearer…

1 hourAurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Sofia: True faith seeks communion and lives in unity

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I delivered a message on Sunday at St Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral in Sofia, where he joined Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria for the Divine Liturgy. “True faith seeks communion, is confirmed through encounter and lives in unity. This is precisely what we are doing today: we visit one another, listen…

YesterdayAurelian Iftimiu

Patriarch Daniil welcomes Ecumenical Patriarch to Bulgaria, calls for stronger Orthodox unity

Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria welcomed His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on Sunday at St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, emphasising the importance of unity in the Orthodox faith and the spiritual legacy of St John of Rila. The Ecumenical Patriarch visited Bulgaria to take part in celebrations marking 1,150 years since the birth of…

YesterdayAurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch to join Bulgaria’s celebrations marking 1,150 years since St John of Rila’s birth

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church will honour St John of Rila with a series of events in Sofia and at Rila Monastery from 17 to 19 October, marking 1,150 years since his birth and 1,080 years since his repose. The programme begins on Saturday at 5:00 pm, when His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will be…

Oct 16, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Day of Prayer for Creation calls Christians to protect environment and God’s creation

The Day of Prayer for Creation is observed on 1 September, at the beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year, as the Church calls for environmental protection and greater responsibility for God’s creation. Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I launched the initiative in 1989, calling on the Christian world to pray for creation and its protection. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew…

Sep 1, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch signs canonisation acts for four Romanian Athonite saints

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I signed the canonisation acts for four Romanian Athonite saints on Saturday: Sts Niphon of Prodromos Skete, Nectarios the Protopsaltes, Dionysius of Colciu and Petronius of Prodromos Skete. The ceremony took place at the Cathedral of St George in Constantinople’s Phanar district, after the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate…

Aug 31, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch marks 1,400 years since first chanting of Akathist Hymn at Blachernae

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I prayed last Friday at the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople, marking 1,400 years since the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God was first chanted. According to tradition, the hymn dedicated to the Mother of God was first chanted at the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople in 626, after the Byzantine…

Aug 12, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to visit Bulgaria for feast of St John of Rila

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will visit Bulgaria on 19 October for the feast of St John of Rila. The announcement was made on Friday during the Service of Supplication to the Mother of God held at the Church of St John of Rila of the Bulgarian community in Constantinople. The visit will take…

Aug 12, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Ecumenical Patriarch marks Romanian parish feast in Constantinople, honours modern-day martyrs

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I presided over the Divine Liturgy on Sunday for the patronal feast of the Romanian Church of the Holy Virgin-Martyr Paraskevi in Constantinople. “With the certainty of this life and of the universal resurrection, we honour the memory of St Paraskevi, who suffered martyrdom for her faith in the risen Christ,” His…

Jul 28, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian children visit Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during Istanbul camp

A group of children from Romania attending the Patriarchal Children’s Camp on Prinkipo (Büyükada) Island visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate on Tuesday, where they were received by His All-Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch, according to the Orthodoxia News Agency. During an excursion organised along the Bosphorus, the children visited several of Constantinople’s historic and religious landmarks.…

Jul 8, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu

Romanian Athonite monks present relics of newly canonised Saints to Ecumenical Patriarch

Romanian monks from the Holy Mount Athos presented Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I with relics of three recently canonised Romanian Athonite Saints on Monday: St Dionysius of Colciu Cell, St Petronius of Prodromos Skete, and St Niphon of Prodromos Skete. The holy relics were brought by a delegation comprising Hieroschemamonk Dionisie Alb, Abbot of the Cell…

Jul 1, 2026Aurelian Iftimiu