Oikoumenikos Patriarchis Vartholomaios

Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, born Demetrios Arhondonis, was born in the village of Agioi Theodoroi on the island of Imvros on February 29, 1940. He received his early education in his hometown and later moved to Constantinople for further studies. He excelled as a student at the Theological School of Halki, graduating in 1961. On August 13, 1961, he was ordained a deacon by then-Metropolitan of Imvros and Tenedos, Meliton, who gave him the name Bartholomew, honoring the Imvrian monk Bartholomew of Kutlumus, a corrector and publisher of the Church's Menaia and other liturgical books. In 1963, he went to Rome as a scholarship recipient from the Patriarchate, attending courses in Ecclesiastical Law at the Institute of Eastern Studies, a branch of the Gregorian University of Rome, focusing on the theology of the Eastern Churches. After completing his studies, he was awarded a doctorate in Eastern Canon Law, presenting his thesis on "The Codification of the Sacred Canons and Canonical Provisions in the Orthodox Church." He also pursued supplementary studies at the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in Switzerland and the University of Munich. After completing his studies, he returned to Constantinople in 1968 and was appointed assistant director at the Theological School of Halki. He was later ordained a priest and received the title of Archimandrite from Patriarch Athenagoras. In 1972, during the Patriarchate of Demetrios I, he was appointed head of the Patriarchal Office. That same year, the Holy Synod elected him Metropolitan of Philadelphia. From 1974 until his election to the Patriarchal throne, he was a member of the Holy and Sacred Synod and various Synodal Committees. In 1990, following the death of his elder and spiritual mentor, Metropolitan Meliton of Chalcedon, he was elected as his successor in the Metropolis of Chalcedon. Finally, on October 22, 1991, after the death of Patriarch Demetrios, he was unanimously elected Ecumenical Patriarch. Patriarch Bartholomew's distinctions and activities since the beginning of his ecclesiastical career are numerous. He was a founding member and Vice President of the "Society of the Law of the Eastern Churches." He is also an honorary member of the "Pro Oriente" foundation in Vienna and a Fellow of the Orthodox Academy of Crete. In November 1990, he was declared an honorary "Doctor" of the Theological School of the University of Athens, as well as other university institutions. As a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he participated in many Pan-Orthodox and Inter-Christian Conferences and took part in official missions to other Orthodox Churches. As head of the Patriarchal Office of his predecessor, Patriarch Demetrios, he developed many contacts with Orthodox Churches worldwide and accompanied the late Patriarch in all phases of the sacred journey of love, peace, and unity in the Eastern Churches, Rome, the USA, and elsewhere. Patriarch Bartholomew is multilingual, speaking Greek, Turkish, Italian, French, English, and German. He has an extensive body of written work, including numerous studies on Canon Law, articles, and speeches published in various magazines and newspapers.