LWF and Orthodox Church issue Common statement on the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the World

On the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and in preparation for Pentecost Sunday, the Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church are issuing a Common Statement on the Holy Spirit, the Church, and the World.

Patriarchal and Synodal Encyclical Issued on the Occasion of the 1700th Anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea

+ B A R T H O L O M E W

By God’s Mercy, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome
and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Plenitude of the Church: May God’s Grace and Peace be with you!

We offer a hymn of thanks to the almighty, all-seeing, and benevolent God in Trinity, who vouchsafed that His people reach the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which bore spiritual witness to the authentic faith in divine Word born without beginning and truly consubstantial with the Father, “who for us and for our salvation descended, was incarnate and became human, suffered and arose on the third day, and ascended to the heavens, who will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

Ecumenical Patriarch at the International Scientific Conference "Restarting from Nicaea: The Importance of the Incarnation in Contemporary Theology" (May 6, 2025)

HIS ALL HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH

B A R T H O L O M E W

Patriarchal Address at the International Scientific Conference

Restarting from Nicaea:

The Importance of the Incarnation in Contemporary Theology

Ecumenical Patriarchate – Holy Metropolis of Pisidia

Akra Hotel – Antalya, Turkey

(May 6, 2025)

* * *

Patriarchal Encyclical for Holy Pascha 2025

+ B A R T H O L O M E W

By God’s Mercy

Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Plenitude of the Church:

May the Grace, Peace and Mercy of Christ Risen in Glory be with you All

Most honorable brother Hierarchs,

Dearly beloved children,

By God’s mercy and strength, we have journeyed through prayer and fasting across the ocean of Holy and Great Lent, finally reaching the splendid feast of Pascha, and we praise the Lord of glory, who descended to the depths of Hades and “achieved the entrance for all to Paradise” through His raising from the dead.

HUMILITY AND LOVE

by Archpriest Dr Georgios Lekkas

What caused the outpouring of love from Mary and the outpouring of love from the people toward Jesus, as narrated in the Gospel reading for Palm Sunday? Surely, it was the Divine Humility of the Lord Jesus.

CATECHETICAL HOMILY FOR THE OPENING OF HOLY AND GREAT LENT (2025)

+ B A R T H O L O M E W

BY GOD’S MERCY 

ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE – NEW ROME

AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH

TO THE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH

MAY THE GRACE AND PEACE 

OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST,

TOGETHER WITH OUR PRAYER, BLESSING AND FORGIVENESS BE WITH ALL

* * *

Three Years of Russian Invasion in Ukraine. A Voice of Truth and Justice from Phanar

By Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne PANAGIOTIS KAPODISTRIAS

Three years after the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the voice of truth and justice continues to resonate powerfully from Phanar, the heart of Orthodoxy. In his address to the Ukrainian diplomatic corps and the local Ukrainian community in Constantinople (February 23, 2025), Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew fearlessly expressed the stance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: the subjugation of a people cannot be tolerated, freedom is non-negotiable, and truth cannot be overshadowed by lies and propaganda.

Ecumenical Patriarch to the Ukrainian Diplomatic Corps and the Local Ukrainian Community in Istanbul

ADDRESS 

of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Ukrainian Diplomatic Corps and the Local Ukrainian Community in Istanbul on the Third Anniversary of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine 

(23 February 2025 – Meatfare Sunday, Church of St. Nicholas, Istanbul)

* * *

Brothers of Christ

By Archpriest Dr Georgios Lekkas

“Another person is our own secret self and even more so the hidden Christ.”

— Fr. Georgios Dormparakis*

The Lord Jesus Christ hungered for us, suffered for us, endured pain for us, and was crucified for us so that He might give us the possibility of sharing His resurrection. The pain suffered by the God-Man cannot be compared  to that of any human being because it had cosmic dimensions—for the Lord suffered as much as all people have ever suffered or will suffer until His Second Coming. However, there is a further reason why His suffering is also unequalled by any other human being: He alone, of all humanity, was fully aware that He was the Son of God and God Himself precisely at the moment when He was suffering for us all.

The Pharisee, who imagined himself saved

By Archpriest Dr Georgios Lekkas

Our Lord directed his harshest words against the Pharisees, who, though they observed the Law, were far from God in their hearts.

A Pharisee is someone who has such a high opinion of himself that he fails to recognise how greatly he is in need of God. The Pharisee believes he has faith in God, but the reality is that he acknowledges no god outside himself. He follows God's Law not in order to please God, but only to appease his own conscience. And because he is so satisfied with himself, his heart is as closed to God as it is to his neighbour.

Sermon by Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm at the funeral of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania

Sermon by the World Council of Churches (WCC) moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm at the funeral of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania.

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ, who is “the resurrection and the life”.  We gather today in sorrow, and at the same time in deep gratitude, as we commend the soul of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania into the eternal embrace of our risen Lord.

The Tax Collector who wished to see Christ

by Archpriest Dr Georgios Lekkas

If we share Zacchaeus’s longing to see Christ and, like him, we do everything in our power to achieve it, we can be certain that, sooner or later, we will see Christ looking back at us. He will call us by name, just as He called Zacchaeus, and He will remain with us, just as He did with His disciples at Emmaus immediately after His Resurrection.

Address By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew – Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Monday, January 27, 2025)

Your Excellency Theodoros Roussopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,

Congratulations for your unanimous re-election this morning. We wish you a fruitful tenure, as it was your first one as President of this auspicious body. Moy God strengthen you in your responsible ministry.

Your Excellencies, 

Your Eminences, 

Esteemed dignitaries and beloved friends,

It is a unique privilege and special joy to address you, especially in such a significant day, on which we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We are deeply honored that we are here once again, after 2007, at this prestigious meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, an international organization committed to upholding and promoting the fundamental principles of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law—namely, all that defines the culture of integrity, freedom, and justice. Moreover, it is a particular honor to be here with so many eminent members of this assembly, along with other dignitaries and foreign diplomats. 

Repentance that unites us with Christ

By Fr Georgios Lekkas

Jesus Christ begins His work in the world precisely where John the Baptist left off, as evidenced by the fact that He starts His teaching ministry with the exact words of John: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).

Patriarchal Encyclical for Christmas (2024)

+ B A R T H O L O M E W

BY GOD’S MERCY ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE-NEW ROME 

AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH 

TO ALL THE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH

GRACE, MERCY AND PEACE 

FROM THE SAVIOR CHRIST BORN IN BETHLEHEM

Most honorable brother hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord,

The First Epistle to the Corinthians by the Apostle Paul. On the Free Movement of the Holy Spirit

Archpriest Dr Georgios Lekkas

The First Epistle to the Corinthians by the Apostle Paul

On the Free Movement of the Holy Spirit

The purpose of Christian life, as so beautifully expressed by St Seraphim of Sarov, is to allow the Holy Spirit to unite us with God, with one another, and with all things. This occurs above all within the Church, which, as the Body of Christ, is, according to St Paul, the Holy Temple of God. The Holy Spirit, who dwells in the Church, bestows everything upon Her and unites all of us within Her with Christ, just as He is united with the Father (1 Cor. 3:22–23). The Church, especially during the Eucharistic Assembly, constitutes the space and means through which the Holy Spirit moves freely, opening us to one another and uniting us with all things.

Keynote Address by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the World Policy Conference 2024

(Abu Dhabi, December 13th, 2024)

* * *

Your Highnesses, 

Your Excellencies, 

Distinguished Leaders and Participants, 

Dear Friends,

It is with profound gratitude that we address this esteemed gathering of the World Policy Conference 2024 here in Abu Dhabi, a city that exemplifies how vision and wisdom can transform challenges into opportunities. Our presence in this remarkable setting, where tradition harmoniously coexists with innovation, offers an apt backdrop for our deliberations on global governance and international cooperation.

Fr Georgios Lekkas: The Passion of Self-Sufficiency

What primarily separates us from Christ is our self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency is the defining trait of the Pharisee, whose love for wealth can be explained by the fact that wealth further increases his self-sufficiency.

Fr Georgios Lekkas: THE PEOPLE OF GOD AND THE PEOPLE OF THE LAW

There are people of the Law, and there are people of God. People of the Law love the Law more than they love others, while people of God live out the Law of Love through their deep love for God and for others. In truth, people of the Law do not truly love anyone, not even themselves; they merely follow the Law to quieten their own conscience. Fundamentally divided, their adherence to the ‘letter’ of the Law simply allows them to endure their own inner division.

Archpriest Dr Georgios Lekkas: The Purpose of Miracles

The accounts of Jesus's miracles in the Gospels seek to teach us how we should approach Jesus Christ in order to receive from Him what we most need.

Everyone who sought healing from the Lord, whether for themselves or for their loved ones, had reached a point of utter despair. They had exhausted every means, and nothing or no one could help them. Yet, in their absolute helplessness—a form of emptiness reminiscent of the kenosis (self-emptying) of the God-Man Jesus—they did not let the darkness of despair consume them. Instead, they set in motion the one thing they had left: their freedom to turn, with all the strength of their devastated souls, to the God-Christ.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: “ The Need for Dialogue Today “

 ADDRESS 

“ The Need for Dialogue Today “ by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW at the Conferral Ceremony Hosted by the University of Notre Dame 

(St Mary’s Cathedral, Monday 7th October 2024)

***

Your Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, 

Your Eminences, Your Graces,

Esteemed Chancellor, the Honourable Christopher Ellison,

Reverend clergy,

Distinguished faculty,
Esteemed students, guests and precious audience, 

It is a unique privilege to stand before this assembly of prominent men and women of Notre Dame University—the leadership team, its executive management, heads of schools—its staff and students, in order to receive this preeminent honorary doctorate from your prestigious Institution. We are especially honoured that such a commendation comes from an academic institution dedicated to ‘building bridges’ through its commitment, as noted in its regulations, to ‘integrate and embrace’ differences; to strengthen partnerships on a global level through joint research, so that the student experience continues to be one marked by a broad range of holistic knowledge and practice initiatives; to enhance its curriculum specifically through its addition of international components; but also, on a local level, with an intentional aim to connect with society’s most marginalised. As one whose Patriarchal tenure, for over three decades, has been especially devoted to dialogue at all levels, we take pride in congratulating your University on these admirable efforts. 

Fr. Georgios Lekkas: OPEN TO THE LIGHT

God created the world out of love so that the world might live through God's love, and God could live through the world. However, for the world to live through God and for God to live through the world, the pinnacle of creation, mankind, was called upon to cooperate with God’s love. The God of love is naturally open to His creation, and even more so to mankind, the summit of all His creations. He fashioned mankind to be capable of equal openness to Him, as far as our created nature will allow.

Fr Georgios Lekkas: FROM FAITH TO FAITH

Luke’s account of the Miraculous Catch of Fish and the calling of the first Disciples (Luke 5:1-11) permits us to witness the spiritual journey of Peter and his companions as their faith in Christ deepens, and they travel from faith to faith.

SEPTEMBER 1ST: A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE "YEAR OF THE LORD"

by Archpriest Dr Georgios Lekkas of the Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Belgium

As a result of Adam's fall, time became the place of his exile, with death in exile as his ultimate punishment. Christ, the new Adam, came to this place of exile so that time could serve as a prelude to the "Year of the Lord," and death as the primary gateway to Eternal Life.

Patriarchal Message for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year and the Solemn Day of Prayers for Natural Environment (September 1, 2024)

† B A R T H O L O M E W

BY GOD’S MERCY ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE-NEW ROME

AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH

TO THE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH

GRACE, PEACE AND MERCY FROM THE MAKER OF ALL CREATION

OUR LORD GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

* * *

Most reverend brother Hierarchs and beloved children in the Lord,

Thirty-five whole years have lapsed since the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate established September 1st, the Feast of the Indiction and opening of the ecclesiastical year, as a Day of Prayers for the Protection of the Natural Environment. This blessed initiative had a great resonance and borne bountiful fruit. The multidimensional ecological activities of the Holy Great Church of Christ today center around the phenomenon of climate change—or rather, the climate crisis—which has caused a “planetary state of emergency.”

WATER: SPIRIT AND SCIENCE – Keynote Address by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Halki Summit VI, Istanbul, August 30, 2024)

* * *

INTRODUCTION

Venerable Hierarchs,

Distinguished participants and guests,

It is a privilege and pleasure to be addressing this opening session of the 6th Halki Summit, dedicated this year to the subject of water in its spiritual and scientific dimensions. And it is with paternal joy and satisfaction that we welcome you to the Phanar as the sacred See of the Orthodox Church, which has initiated an exhaustive and comprehensive series of pioneering and inspiring events for the sake of raising awareness and disseminating knowledge about the preservation and protection of the unique gift of God’s creation. All of you bring specific and special talents toward this end, and it is our earnest hope and prayer that this summit will once again forge new friendships and relationships, while expanding and extending invaluable networks in a world that is hungry for such encounters and relationships.