On April 19, His Eminence, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew officiated the service of the Salutations to the Theotokos at the church of Panaghia Koumariotissa at Nihori on the Bosphorus, in Istanbul. He spoke of the contribution and the history of the Ecumenical Patriarchate over the centuries.
Bartholomew was present during the fourth week of the Akathist Hymn, which took place in the historic parish of Theodore of Byzantium the New Martyr, as well as of the Alexandrian poet Konstantinos Kavafis.
“Even if it wasn’t for the Great Church of Christ, it is almost certain that Constantinople would probably not lose anything from its natural beauty and glory as well as that this would not affect the importance of its exceptional geographic and strategic position as a link to the East and West. However, it would be poorer spiritually and in any case would be something less than what it is today. The grandeur of the Great Church is due to the fact that it is the world’s most humble of all Churches and that it is the Church of Jesus Christ,” the Patriarch noted.
He also added that, “we have the great privilege of being the direct flock of the Mother Church and encircle the success, passions and visions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.” For the end of his speech, Bartholomew chose to read two poems referring to Constantinople.
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