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Note: Folks on the newsgroup may recall my attempt to precisely date
the unique use of the term "His All Holiness" for the "Ecumenical
Patriarch", a term also difficult to precisely date its genesis.
Nevertheless, he shows up in a free forum tomorrow, and the folowing
bio, probably prepared by Himself, initial caps optional for anyone
except God and His holy saints:
Events › 2009 › November › Information Page › His All Holiness
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
His All Holiness, BARTHOLOMEW, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome
and Ecumenical Patriarch is the 270th successor of the 2,000 year-old
local Christian Church founded by St. Andrew the Apostle. As a citizen
of Turkey, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's personal experience
provides him a unique perspective on the continuing dialogue among the
Christian, Islamic and Jewish worlds. He works to advance
reconciliation among Catholic, Muslim and Orthodox communities, such
as in former Yugoslavia, and is supportive of peace building measures
to diffuse global conflict in the region.
As Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew occupies the First Throne of the Orthodox Christian Church
and presides in a fraternal spirit among all the Orthodox Primates.
The Ecumenical Patriarch has the historical and theological
responsibility to initiate and coordinate actions among the Churches
of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria,
Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, The Czech Land and Slovakia,
Finland, Estonia, and numerous archdioceses in the old and new worlds.
This includes the convening of councils or meetings, facilitating
inter-church and inter-faith dialogues and serving as the primary
expresser of Church unity as a whole. As Ecumenical Patriarch he
transcends every national and ethnic group on a global level and today
is the spiritual leader of approximately 250 million faithful world-
wide.
The Greek Orthodox Church of America was founded as an Archdiocese of
the Ecumenical Throne in 1922. As such, the Archdiocese of America is
an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarch. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
is blessed to have as its Primate ad Patriarchal, His Eminence
Archbishop Demetrios, who was elected Archbishop in 1999 by the Holy
and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
In his person, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew represents the memory
of the life and sacrifice of the martyred Orthodox Church of the 20th
Century. After ascending the Ecumenical Throne in 1991, he journeyed
throughout the Orthodox and non-Orthodox world bringing a message of
restoration and renewed hope. He has presided over the restoration of
the Autocephalous Church of Albania and Autonomous Church of Estonia,
and as been a constant source of spiritual and moral support to those
traditionally Orthodox countries emerging from decades of wide scale
religious persecution behind the Iron Curtain. The Ecumenical
Patriarch is a living witness to the world of Orthodoxy's painful and
redemptive struggle for religious freedom and to the innate dignity of
humankind.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew strives earnestly to prepare the
Orthodox Church for its continuing role as a mediator between East and
West. In his capacity as Ecumenical Patriarch, he has three times
convened the leaders of the self-governing Orthodox Churches around
the globe, challenging them to vigorously pursue solutions to the
challenges of the new millennium, for example, by categorically
condemning nationalism and fanaticism. Together with His All Holiness
Pope John Paul II, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has supported
progress toward the reconciliation of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox
Christian Churches.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew's roles as the primary spiritual
leader of the Orthodox Christian world and a transnational figure of
global significance continue to become more vital each day. He co-
sponsored the Peace and Tolerance Conference in Istanbul (1994)
bringing together Christians, Muslims and Jews. Most noted are his
efforts in environmental awareness, which have earned him the title
"Green Patriarch." He has organized environmental seminars in co-
sponsorship with His Royal Highness Prince Philip, and international
environmental symposia on Patmos (1995) and around the Black Sea
(1997). Since 1999 three other Religion, Science and the Environment
International Symposia took place under the joint auspices of His All
Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Excellency Mr.
Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission: Symposium III,
which sailed down the Damude River; Symposium IV: "The Adriatic Sea: A
Sea at Risk, a Unity of Purpose" (June 2002) and Symposium V: "The
Baltic Sea: A Common Heritage, A Shared Responsibility" (June 2003).
These endeavours, together with his inspiring efforts on behalf of
religious freedom and human rights, rank Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew among the world’s foremost apostles of love, peace and
reconciliation for humanity, a reason for which he was awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal by the U.S. Congress.
BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE: HIS ALL HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH
BARTHOLOMEW
Born: Dimitrios Arhondonis, February 29, 1940, Island of Imvros
(Gokceada), Turkey.
Primary Education: Elementary and secondary education on Imvros and in
Istanbul.
Formal Education: Theological School of Halki, graduated with highest
honours (1961).
Ordinations:
August 13, 1961, Holy Diaconate, receiving the ecclesiastical name
Bartholomew
October 19, 1969, Holy Priesthood
Christmas 1973, Metropolitan of Philadelphia (Asia Minor)
January 14, 1990, Enthronement as Metropolitan of Chalcedon
October 22, 1991, Elected 270th Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome
and Ecumenical Patriarch
November 2, 1991, Enthronement in the Patriarchal Cathedral in the
Phanar
Scholarships:
1963-1968 Awarded by the Ecumenical Patriarchate for study at the
Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome; the Ecumenical Institute at
Bossey, Switzerland; and at the University of Munich, specializing in
Canon Law.
Doctorates:
The Pontifical Oriental Institute (Gregorian University). Thesis
titled "The Codification of the Holy Canons and the Canonical
Constitutions in the Orthodox Church."
Honorary Doctorates:
University of Athens School of Theology, Theological Academy of
Moscow, University of Crete School of Philosophy, City University
(London), Aegean University (Department of Environmental Studies), The
Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius (Paris), Aix-en-
Provence University (Doctorate of Canon Law), the Faculty of Divinity
of the University of Edinburgh, the University of Louvain, Flinders
University (Australia), University of Salonika (two branches of the
School of Theology, Law, Philosophy and Forestry), Holy Cross Greek
Orthodox School of Theology (Boston), Georgetown University
(Washington D.C.), Tufts University (Boston), Southern Methodist
University (Dallas), Yale University (New Haven), St. Vladimir’s
Orthodox Theological Seminary (Scarsdale, New York), St. Andrew's
College (Winnipeg, Canada), Universities of Bucharest and IaĹźi
(Romania), Sherbrooke University (Toronto), Adamson University
(Manila, Philippines), Exeter University (Exeter, U.K.), University of
Thessalia (Greece), University of Batum (Georgia). Many other academic
institutions have announced the decisions of their faculties to honour
Patriarch Bartholomew with an honorary doctorate.
Awards:
The U.S. Congressional Gold Medal (1997), honorary medals from various
Orthodox Churches, the highest decoration bestowed by the Presidents
of Lebanon, Romania, Greece, Estonia, and Hungary. The Sophie
Foundation Award (Oslo, June 2002). The Binding Foundation Award
(Vaduz, December 2002).
Military Service:
1961-1963 Reserve officer in the Turkish Army.
Positions:
Assistant Dean of the Theological School of Halki (1968); Director
Private Patriarchal Office (1972); Member of the Holy and Sacred Synod
(since 1974).
Languages:
Greek, Turkish, Latin, French, English, Italian, and German.
Memberships:
"Society of Canon Law of the Oriental Churches," founding member and
vice-president; "Faith and Order" Committee of the World Council of
Churches (W.C.C.), vice-president; Fellow of the Orthodox Academy of
Crete, Greece; honorary member of the Pro-Oriente Foundation in
Vienna; honorary citizen of numerous cities in various countries.
Conferences and Delegations:
Fourth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches (W.C.C.),
(Uppsala 1968); Sixth ( Vancouver 1983); Seventh (Canberra 1991);
member of Executive and Central Committees of the W.C.C.; Numerous
inter-Orthodox and inter-Christian meetings; Official delegations to
the Turkish Government, Orthodox and non-Orthodox Churches, and Mt.
Athos; Presided over the Preparatory Inter-Orthodox Committee for the
Holy and Great Synod, which dealt with the subject of the Orthodox
Diaspora (1990); International Summit on Religious and Conversation,
Atami, Japan (Session I, 1995), and Windsor Castle, Great Britain
(Session II, 1996); World Economic Forum (Davos, Switzerland, 1999);
Inter-religious Prayer for Peace (Assisi 2002); Many interfaith and
intercultural meetings in Turkey.
Major Events:
Convened Primates of the Orthodox Patriarchates and Autocephalous
Churches at the Phanar, Sunday of Orthodoxy (1992); consecration of
the Holy Chrism (1992); Peace and Tolerance Conference, Istanbul
(1994) (The Bosphorus Declaration); convened Hierarchs of the
Ecumenical Throne (Phanar, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998); Presided over the
celebrations on the island of Patmos, Greece, on the 1900th
anniversary since the recording of the Apocalypse of St. John; the II
Assembly of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches; a Symposium at Sea
on the issue of the Scientific Meeting on the sacred book of the
Apocalypse (1995); Five International environmental seminars on the
island of Heybeliada (Halki), "Environment and Religious
Education" (1994), "Environment and Ethics" (1995), "Environment and
Communication" (1996), "Environment and Justice" (1997), "Environment
and Poverty" (1998); "Symposium II – The Black Sea in Crisis" (1997),
seeking to discern appropriate action on preserving the Black Sea
region; " The Halki Ecological Institute" (1999) an interdisciplinary
learning opportunity for scientists, clergy, journalists, educators
and students; Symposium III – "A River of Life" (1999), highlighting
the grave environmental problems facing Europe's greatest waterway.
This third floating Symposium travelled down the Danube from the
river’s headwaters to the Delta and Black Sea. Scientific Conference,
Istanbul, (2000); Clergy-Laity Conference, Istanbul (2000); Interfaith
Meeting – "The Peace of God in the World" , Brussels (2001), convened
and organized by him; the Religion, Science and Environment
International Symposium IV: "The Adriatic Sea: A Sea at Risk, a Unity
of Purpose" (June 2002) and Symposium V: "The Baltic Sea: A Common
Heritage, A Shared Responsibility" (June 2003).
Official Visits:
Their Excellencies Presidents SĂĽleyman Demirel and Ahmet Necdet Sezer
of Turkey; Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace; Her Majesty
Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands; His Majesty King Albert of Belgium;
His Royal Highness Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg ; His Royal Highness
Prince Hans-Adam of Lichtenstein; Their Excellencies Jacques Delors
and Jacques Santer, Presidents of the Commission of the European
Community; President Richard von Weizacker and Chancellor Helmut Khol
of Germany; Presidents Ion Iliescu and Emil Constantinescu of Romania;
President Zelo Zelev and Prime Minister Symeon of Bulgaria; Prime
Minister Victor Chernomyrdim of Russia; President Ezer Weizman and
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel; PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat;
President Kim Young-sam of Korea; President Jacques Chirac of France;
President Kaspar Villiger of Switzerland; President William J. Clinton
of the United States of America; First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton;
Vice President Al Gore and Mrs. Tipper Gore; Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright; Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; Prime Minister
Jean Chretien of Canada; President Dr. Thomas Klestil of Austria;
President Vaclev Havel of the Czech Republic; President Eduard
Shevardnadze of Georgia; President Constantine Stephanopoulos and
Prime Minister Constantine Simitis of Greece; President Alexander
Kwasniewski of Poland; President Rudolf Schuster of Slovakia; Former
South African President F.W. De Klerk; The Jean Monnet Institute; The
International Olympic Headquarters; U.N.E.S.C.O; The Ecumenical
Institute at Bossey; The Republic of Armenia; His Highness Sheikh
Hamad Bin Issa Al-Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain; His Excellency M. Khatami,
the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran; His Majesty King Harald
V of Norway and His Excellency the Prime Minister of Norway Mr. Kjell
Magne Bondevik (June 2002) ; Her Excellency Tarja Halonen, the
President of the Republic of Finland; His Excellency Moamar Kaddafi,
Leader of the Sate of Libya; His Excellency Eduard George
Shevardnadze, President of the republic of Georgia.
Official Church Visits:
The Patriarchate of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia,
Romania (multiple), Bulgaria, and Georgia; The Churches of Greece,
Poland, Albania, Czech and Slovak Republics, Finland, Crete (twice);
Mt. Athos; Monastery of St. Katherine on Mt. Siani (twice); His
Holiness Pope John Paul II, Vatican City; Roman Catholic and
Evangelical Churches of Germany; His Beatitude Patriarch Paulos and
the Church of Ethiopia; His Grace The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr.
George Carey and the Anglican Communion; Lutheran Church of Sweden;
1000th Anniversary of Christianity in Norway; Orthodox communities and
missions of Korea; His Eminence Bishop Hans Gerny and the Old-Catholic
Church of Switzerland; World Council of Churches; Conference of
European Churches; Lutheran World Federation; Alliance of Reformed
Churches; Orthodox Centre at Chambesy; 1000th Anniversary of Holy
Xenophontos Monastery on Mt. Athos; 500th Anniversary of the Greek
Orthodox Community of Venice, Italy; Ancient Patriarchal See of
Antioch; The Archdioceses of America (three times), Canada, Thyateira
and Great Britain, Imvros and Tenedos, Sweden and Scandinavia,
Germany, Italy, The Dodecanese, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Hong
Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Leros; The Church of Armenia.
Official Dignitaries and Visitors:
His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Their Beatitudes
Patriarchs Petros of Alexandria, Ignatius of Antioch, Aleksy of
Russia, Pavle of Serbia, Teoctist of Romania, Maxim of Bulgaria and
Elias of Georgia; Their Beatitudes Archbishops Cristodoulos of Athens
and all Greece and Anastasios of Tirana and all Albania, His Beatitude
Metropolitan Sawa of Poland; is Eminence Archbishop John of Karelia
and all Finland; His Holiness Supreme Patriarch Karekin I of all
Armenians; His Beatitude Patriarch Paulos of Ethiopia; His Grace The
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. George Carey; Dr. Konrad Raiser, General
Secretary of the W.C.C; His Eminence Frank T. Griswold, Primate of the
Episcopal Church of the U.S.A; Presidents Dr. Thomas Klestil of
Austria, Dr. Johannes Rau of Germany, Mr. Glafkos Clerides of Cyprus,
Mr. Romano Prodi of the European Parliament, Dr. Emil Constantinescu
of Romania, Mr. William J. Clinton of the United States, Mr.
Aleksander Kwasniewskiof Poland; Prime Ministers Mr. Costas Simitis of
Greece and Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik of Norway; U.S. Secretary of State
Mrs. Madeleine Albright; Mr. Sandy Berger; Mrs. Hillary Rodham
Clinton, First Lady of the United States; Assistant U.S. Secretaries
of State Richard Holbrooke, John Shattuck, and Harold Koh; Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr; His Excellency George Papandreou, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Greece; Official delegations from the World Lutheran
Federation, the Churches of Rome, Russia, Romania, Greece, and others;
Their Majesties King Constantine, Queen Anna Maria and Queen Sophia of
Spain; Their Royal Highness Princes Charles of Wales, Pavlos,
Nicholas, Michael and Phillipos, Princesses Irene, Marie-Chantel,
Alexia, Theodora and Maria Olympia; Their Eminences Roger Cardinal
Etchegaray, Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy as President of the
Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, Bernard Francis Cardinal Law
of Boston, William Henry Cardinal Keeler of Baltimore, Carlo Maria
Cardinal Martini of Milan, Silvano Cardinal Piovanelli of Florence,
Miroslav Cardinal Vlk of Prague, Marco Cardinal Ce of Venice, Francis
Cardinal George of Chicago, Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State and
Walter Cardinal Kasper of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity
(Vatican). His Holiness Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Church; His
Excellency Evangelos Venizelos, Minister of Culture of Greece (May
2002).
Messages:
Annual encyclical on the environment each September 1st, designated by
the Ecumenical Patriarchate and by the entire Orthodox Church as a day
of prayer for the protection of creation (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995,
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,
2007, 2008, 2009); The European Parliament at its plenary session on
April 19, 1994; VI. General Assembly of the World Conference on
Religion and Peace (WCRP) in Riva del Garda, Italy (1994);
U.N.E.S.C.O. General Assembly (1995); Turkish-Greek Business Council
and the Young Businessmen’s Association (1997); The United States
Congress upon being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (1997); The
Santa Barbara Environmental Conference "Caring for God’s
Creation" (1997); Interfaith Dialogue Assembly (1998); Forum 2000
gathering in Prague (1999);Address on Prayer for Peace in Novi Sad
(1999); The Greek and the polish Parliaments (1999 and 2000,
respectively); "Sacred Gifts to a Living Planet" Kathmandu, Nepal,
(2000); The United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance, Durban, South
Africa (2001); Official Visit to Iran "The Contribution of Religion to
the Establishment of Peace in the Contemporary World" (2002), "Witness
to Peace" (Assisi 2002), and many others. |
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