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

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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)

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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).