For the Press

The distance and separation between God and humanity resulting from sin has been abolished with the assumption of the entire human nature by the Only-Begotten Son and Pre-eternal Word of God. It was God’s good will – that is to say, His initiative and will – that the incarnation of His Son should abolish all such distance uniting heaven and earth, as well as creation with its Creator. Read more...

His All Holiness Bartholomew will be featured on the CBS News program 60 Minutes reported by Bob Simon, scheduled to air on Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 7 p.m. EST. The segment will focus on the Orthodox Church, the most ancient Christian church, and its development from its earliest years to modern times in what is now the Republic of Turkey. Read more...

It is with profound regret that we learned today of the repose in the Lord of our brother Patriarch Pavle of Serbia. After holding a memorial service at the conclusion of this evening’s Vespers on the occasion of the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, we entreated the Lord with all our heart and soul to grant rest to his blessed soul in the land of the living. Read more...

I want to welcome all of you to the Ben Franklin Room here on the eighth floor of the State Department for such a special occasion. It is indeed an honor for me to welcome His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, whom I have had the great honor and personal pleasure of getting to know over the years Read more...

We rise to express our gratitude and profound sense of appreciation to you, Madame Secretary, for your hospitality to us and for this tribute to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. We rise to address you, not as another dignitary among so many, but as a fellow laborer in the vineyard of peace. We rise as one who honors your commitment to the work of reconciliation and expanding the scope of dignity and justice for the whole human family. Read more...