Ecumenical Patriarchate

SUMELA, Turkey—The Turkish government allowed Christians to pray Sunday at a spectacular and politically sensitive Greek Orthodox monastery for the first time since the country's creation, seeking to improve the country's record on religious tolerance and boost tourism. The emotional, three-hour service at Sumela Monastery in Turkey's Black Sea region was the first of two special church openings the government recently has permitted Read more...

Istanbul (AsiaNews) -- In a unanimous decision, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that Turkey must return the former Greek Orphanage on Büyükada Island, the largest of the Princes' Islands, back to Fener Greek Patriarchate. Read more...

Once again, in a matter only of a few years, the eyes of the world are turned with suspense toward the Gulf Coast. Sadly, the oil spill is following a path similar to Hurricane Katrina and threatening the coast of Louisiana as well as neighboring states. As citizens of God's creation, we perceive this monumental spill of crude oil in the oceans Read more...

NEW YORK, NY -- The government of Turkey may wish to minimize the significance of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, but the National Council of Churches asserts that U.S. Christians regard Patriarch Bartholomew as "a world leader whose spiritual and moral authority has influenced us all." Read more...

Our most holy Orthodox Church today commemorates its own feast day, and – from this historical and martyric See of the Ecumenical Patriarchate – the Mother Church of Constantinople directs its blessing, love and concern to all of its faithful and dedicated spiritual children throughout the world, inviting them to concelebrate in prayer. Blessed be the name of the Lord! Those who endeavored over the ages to suppress the Church through various visible and invisible persecutions; Read more...