The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, returned to Greece on Sunday afternoon, arriving at the northwest lake-side city of Ioannina for a pastoral visit to the resident Metropolis of Ioannina.
An official welcoming ceremony for the Primate of the Mother Church took place in a splendorous manner on Monday morning at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Athanasios, attended by the resident Metropolitan, His Eminence Maximos, hierarchs of the Metropolis of Ioannina, clerics, office-holders, regional and municipal officials, representatives of the Greek armed forces and many faithful.
A Doxology service, giving thanks for the pastoral visit, followed.
A day earlier on Sunday afternoon, His All Holiness was welcomed with all due honors and reverence at City Hall by Ioannina Mayor Moses Elisaf, followed by a meeting at the Prefecture seat with Epirus Governor Alexandros Kahrimanis, and lastly, a visit to the Holy Monastery of Vellas in the evening.
On Tuesday morning, the Ecumenical Patriarch will attend a festal Divine Liturgy for the newly consecrated Church of St. Paisios. At noon the Ecumenical Patriarch will be present for an event naming a rebuilt town square, in front of the specific church, in his honor.
His All Holiness also make a pilgrimage to a church dedicated to the patron saint of Ioannina, New Martyr St. George. Several other events and visits are planned for the specific day, Tuesday.
Bartholomew receives delegation of members of US House Foreign Affairs Com’t
In an item also related to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on Saturday His All Holiness received a visiting delegation of members of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, led by its chairman, Gregory Meeks, at the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s Phanar-district see.
His All Holiness and the US lawmakers discussed initiatives by the Patriarchal throne towards raising awareness in the international public opinion over the need to ensure the preservation and protection of Creation’s natural environment.
The Ecumenical Patriarch also referred to his visit to the United States last autumn, during which he met with US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among others.
Memorial service for reposed Ecumenical Patriarch Athinagoras
In a related item, the memory of reposed Ecumenical Patriarch Athinagoras was commemorated on Sunday by the Great and Holy Church of Constantinople with a Patriarchal and Synodal Divine Liturgy at Patriarch Cathedral of St. George, officiated by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. A memorial service was chanted afterwards for the repose of the soul of the great Shepard.