May 1991 A.D.—Present. Bartholomew I—Constantinople’s 269th; Studied at Patriarchal Theological Seminary (Halki Seminary); “First Among Equals;”
May 1991 A.D.—Present. Bartholomew I—Constantinople’s 269th; Studied at Patriarchal Theological Seminary
(Halki Seminary); “First Among Equals;” Post-Graduate Work at Pontifical
Institute in Rome, Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, and University of Munich, Germany; Doctoral Work in Canon Law; Attended Inauguration
of Mr. Jorge Bergoglio (Francis I), a First for Eastern Patriarch; Fluent in Greek, Turkish, German, French,
England and Classical Greek and Latin;
Assassination Plot Discovered on 27 May 2013; Met Barrack Hussein Obama; Recipient of Various National and
International Awards from Countries and Academic Institutions.
Bartholomew I of
Constantinople
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
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His All Holiness
Bartholomew I |
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Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople
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Church
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Diocese
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Constantinople
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Installed
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2 November 1991
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Term ended
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Predecessor
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Personal details
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Birth name
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Dimitrios Arhondonis (Δημήτριος Αρχοντώνης,
Dimítrios Archontónis)
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Born
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Denomination
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Residence
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Parents
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Christos (father) and Merope (mother)
Archontónis
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Spouse
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None
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Children
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None
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Occupation
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Profession
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Patriarch
Bartholomew I (Greek: Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαῖος Α'
(Patriarchis Bartholomaios A'), Turkish: Patrik I. Bartolomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th and current Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch,[1] and thus "first among equals"
in the Eastern Orthodox Communion, since 2 November 1991.[2][3][4][5]
Bartholomew's tenure has been
characterized by intra-Orthodox cooperation, inter-Christian and inter-religious dialog, as well as by formal trips to Orthodox and Muslim
countries seldom previously visited. He has exchanged numerous invitations of
Church and State dignitaries. His efforts to promote religious freedom and human rights, his initiatives to advance religious tolerance
among the world’s religions has been widely noted. Among his many positions, he
currently sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.[6]
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Contents
Early life and career
Bartholomew I was born in the
village of Zeytinli (Άγιος Θεόδωρος/Agios Theodoros) in the island of Gökçeada (Ίμβρος Imvros in Greek), son of Christos and Merope
Archontónis. His secular birth name is Dimitrios
Arhondonis (Δημήτριος Αρχοντώνης, Dimítrios Archontónis). He is a Turkish
citizen and he belongs (ethnically) to the small remnants of the native Greek community in Turkey.
Dimitrios Archontonis attended
elementary school in his native Imvros and continued his secondary education in
the famous Zographeion Lyceum in Istanbul. Soon afterwards, he studied Theology as an undergraduate at the Patriarchal Theological
school or Halki seminary, from which he graduated with highest honours in
1961, and was immediately ordained deacon, receiving the name Bartholomew. Bartholomew fulfilled his military service in the Turkish army as a non-regular
officer between 1961 and 1963. From 1963 to 1968, Bartholomew pursued his
postgraduate studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in Switzerland and the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich in Germany. His doctoral research was on the Canon Law. The same year he became a lecturer in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
After returning to Istanbul in 1968, he took a position at the Patriarchal
Theological Seminary of Halki, where he was ordained a priest in 1969, by Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I. When Demetrius I became Ecumenical Patriarch in 1972 and established the Patriarchal Office,
he selected Bartholomew as its director. On Christmas of 1973, Bartholomew
became Metropolitan of Philadelphia, and was renamed as director of the
patriarchal office until his enthronement as Metropolitan of Chalcedon in 1990. From March 1974 until his enthronement as
Ecumenical Patriarch, he was a member of the Holy Synod as well as of many Synodical Committees. He
attended the inaugural mass of Pope Francis, the first time in history that a
Bishop of Constantinople has attended the installation of a Bishop of Rome.
He speaks Greek, Turkish, Italian, German, French and English; he is also fluent in classical Greek and Latin.
Bartholomew I's name appeared
in an assassination plot which was planned to take place on May 29, 2013.[7] One suspect has been arrested with an ongoing
search of two others.[7]
Accomplishments
As Ecumenical Patriarch,
he has been particularly active internationally. One of his first focuses has
been on rebuilding the once-persecuted Eastern Orthodox Churches of the former Eastern Bloc following the fall of Communism there in 1990. As part of this effort he has worked
to strengthen ties amongst the various national Churches and Patriarchates of
the Eastern Orthodox Communion. He has also continued the reconciliation
dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church started by his predecessors, and initiated
dialogue with other faiths, including other Christian sects, Muslims, and Jews.[8][9]
He has also gained a
reputation as a prominent environmentalist, putting the support of the Patriarchate behind
various international environmental causes. This has earned him the nicknames
of "the Green Patriarch" and "the Green Pope",[2][10][11] and in 2002 he was honored with the Sophie Prize. He has also been honoured with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award which may be bestowed by the Legislative Branch of the United States government.
Bartholomew I, after his
attempts to celebrate the liturgy in remote areas of the country, thereby renewing
the Orthodox presence, which was absent since before 1924, has now come under
intense pressure from Turkish nationalist elements. The patriarchal Seminary of Halki in the Princes' Islands remains closed since 1971 on government orders.
During his trip to Turkey in
November 2006, Pope Benedict XVI traveled to Istanbul on the invitation of the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I. The Pope participated in
the feast day services of St. Andrew the First Apostle, the patron saint of the Church
of Constantinople. This was the third official visit to the Ecumenical
Patriarchate by a Pope (the first being by Paul VI in 1967, and the second by John Paul II in 1979).
In an interview published on
19 November 2006 in the daily newspaper Sabah, Bartholomew I addressed the issues of religious freedom
and the then upcoming papal trip to Turkey. He also referred to the closing of
the Halki seminary by saying: "As Turkish citizens, we pay taxes. We serve
in the military. We vote. As citizens we do everything. We want the same
rights. But it does not happen... If Muslims want to study theology, there are
24 theology faculties. Where are we going to study?" He also addressed the
issue of his Ecumenical title and it not being accepted by the Turkish
government: "We've had this title since the 6th century... The word
ecumenical has no political content. [...] This title is the only thing that I
insist on. I will never renounce this title."[12][13]
He attended the inaugural Mass
of Pope Francis on 19 March 2013, paving the way for better
Catholic-Orthodox relations. It was the first time that the spiritual head of
Orthodox Christians had attended a papal inaugural Mass since the Great Schism in 1054.[14][15] After, he invited Pope Francis to travel with him
to the Holy Land in 2014 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the embrace
between Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI. Pope Francis was also invited to Constantinople
for the feast day of Saint Andrew (30
November).[16]
Titles
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Styles of
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople |
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His All Holiness
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Spoken style
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Your All Holiness
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Religious style
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Ecumenical Patriarch
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Posthumous style
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N/A
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The official title of the
Ecumenical Patriarch is:
His
All Holiness, Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and
Ecumenical Patriarch
in Greek:
Η
Αυτού Θειοτάτη Παναγιότης ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος Κωνσταντινουπόλεως Νέας Ρώμης και
Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαίος Α'
The official title recognized
by the Republic of Turkey is:
Bartholomew
I, Patriarch of the Fener Rum Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul
Awards, honours and distinctions
In 1997, Bartholomew received
the Congressional Gold Medal. The Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal
of Freedom are the highest civilian awards given by the United States.[17]
In April 2008, he was included
on the Time 100 most influential people in the
world list.[19] In 1999 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania; in 2004, by Federal President Thomas Klestil, the Great Golden Medal with Ribbon for
Services to the Republic of Austria and on 13 March 2007, the third anniversary of the
death of Cardinal Franz König, Bartholomew was awarded in Vienna's St. Stephen
the "Cardinal König Prize" Foundation "Communio et
Progressio".
He has been awarded honorary
doctorates by a number of universities and educational institutions around the
world, among them: National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, TEI of Kavala, Democritus University of Thrace, University of Crete, University of Ioannina, University of the Aegean, University of Western Macedonia and University of Thessaly in Greece, Moscow State University in Russia, University of Iaşi in Romania, City University of London, Exeter University and University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, St. Sergius Orthodox Theological
Institute and Université de Provence Aix-Marseille I in France, University of Bucharest in Romania, Flinders University in Australia, Adamson University in the Philippines, St. Andrew’s College and Sherbrooke University in Canada, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School
of Theology, Georgetown University, Tufts University, Southern Methodist University, Yale University, Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox
Theological Seminary in
the United States.
In October 2009, he received
an honorary doctorate from Fordham University in the United States.[20]
On October 22, 2011, he
received the Grand Collar of The Order of the Eagle of Georgia
and the Seamless Tunic of Our Lord Jesus Christ by HRH Prince David Bagrationi of Mukhran in a ceremony at St. George's chapel.[21]
On May 27, 2013, he received Order of the White Double Cross by Ivan
Gašparovič, president of Slovak
republic. [22]
On December 3, 2013, he
received the Global Thinkers Forum 2013 Award for Excellence in Peace and
Collaboration.
Ordinations and ecclesiastical
appointments
See also
References
1. Jump up^ John Meyendorff, John Chapin, Nicolas
Lossky(1981), The Orthodox
Church: its past and its role in the world today, Crestwood,
N.Y. : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, p.132 ISBN 0-913836-81-8
2. ^ Jump up to:a b Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew: insights into an Orthodox Christian worldview (2007) John Chryssavgis International
Journal of Environmental Studies, 64, (1);pp: 9 - 18
3. Jump up^ "Ecumenical Patriarch of the Worldwide
Orthodox Christian Church Meets with American Bible Society Leaders". Religious News
Service. July 17, 2007.
4. Jump up^ "American Bible Society Sees
Potential in Blossoming Greek Orthodox Relations". The Christian
Post. July 23, 2007.
6. Jump up^ The Elijah Interfaith Institute -
Christian Members of the Board of World Religious Leaders
7. ^ Jump up to:a b Kaya, Bayram (10 May 2013). "One arrested as plot to assassinate
Patriarch Bartholomew uncovered". Zaman. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
8. Jump up^ Patriarch
Bartholomew I: Texts and Speeches (1991-1992) (1998) George C. Papademetriou; Journal of
Ecumenical Studies 35
9. Jump up^ Recent Patriarchal Encyclicals on Religious
Tolerance and Peaceful Coexistence (2002) George C. Papademetriou Journal of
Ecumenical Studies, 39
10. Jump up^ "The Green Patriarch |
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople". Patriarchate.org. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
11. Jump up^ Orthodox Leader Deepens Progressive
Stance on Environment December 3, 2012 New York Times regarding an Encyclical
14. Jump up^ Pope sets tone for humbler papacy,
calls for defense of the weak. Reuters. Published: 19 March 2013
16. Jump up^ United against economic crisis and
"worldly trends", Bartholomew and Francis to be in Jerusalem next
year. AsiaNews.it. Published: 20 March 2013
17. Jump up^ "Congressional Gold Medal
Ceremony | Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople".
Patriarchate.org. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
20. Jump up^ "Ecumenical Patriarch Receives
Honorary Degree". Fordham.edu. 28 October 2003. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
21. Jump up^ "THE PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE
DECORATED BY THE HEAD OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF GEORGIA". Royal House of
Georgia. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
22. Jump up^ "Arcibiskup Bartolomej I.
navštívil Bratislavu - Fotogaléria". Webnoviny.sk. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
23. Jump up^ Указ Президента України № 393/2013 від
27 липня 2013 року «Про нагородження орденом Свободи»(Ukrainian)
External links
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·
A Patriarch in Dire Straits by John
Couretas, director of communications at the Acton Institute and executive
director of the American Orthodox Institute.
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Preceded by
Unknown |
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Preceded by
Meliton (Hadjis) |
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Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople
1991–present |
Incumbent
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Regnal titles
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Incumbent
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