On Friday, June 20, 2025, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in Great Britain to participate in various official engagements across the country.
Later that afternoon, the Patriarch delivered a keynote lecture entitled “The Canons of Nicaea as an Expression of the Living Canonical Tradition of the Orthodox Church” at the 37th Annual Scientific Conference of the Ecclesiastical Law Society. This year’s conference was dedicated to the commemoration of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.
The invitation to speak was extended jointly by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby (who has since resigned), and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.
At the conclusion of his extensive and warmly applauded address, the Ecumenical Patriarch was honored as a Fellow of the prestigious Ecclesiastical Law Society. This recognition celebrated his significant contributions on an inter-Orthodox and ecumenical level in the fields of Ecclesiastical and Canon Law. Notably, this distinction has only recently been established, and Patriarch Bartholomew is the first to receive it.
After Chichester, Patriarch Bartholomew traveled by car to the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex to attend and pray at the consecration of the newly built Church of St. Sophronius of Athos, the monastery’s founder. The Patriarch had laid the foundation stone for this church in October 2022.
The consecration was performed by the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, Nikitas, on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Accompanying the Patriarch are Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, and Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain; the Grand Ecclesiarch Aetios, Director of the Patriarchal Office; Deacon Oikumenios, Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod; and others.
During the Ecumenical Patriarch’s absence, the Patriarchal Commissioner at the Phanar has been appointed as His Eminence Metropolitan Maximos of Silivri.
Photo credit: John Mindala
Orthodox Times