Macron’s meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew – Focus on Ukraine and the Olympics

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was received on Monday morning (22/4) by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.

The talks, which lasted more than an hour, took place in a cordial atmosphere, focused on the initiatives of the Ecumenical Throne, but also on issues of current affairs.

In particular, President Macron, who welcomed the Ecumenical Patriarch with the appropriate honors, showed a special interest in the developments in the Orthodox Church, due to the ongoing war conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and congratulated Mr. Bartholomew for his unequivocal and clear condemnation of the war and for the example he sets as a leading religious leader. For his part, the Ecumenical Patriarch thanked the president of France for the honorable invitation and his warm words and conveyed to him the blessing of the Church of Constantinople for the successful holding of the upcoming Olympic Games in the summer in Paris.

He also expressed the hope that the principle of truce, which has been in effect since ancient times during the Olympic Games, will also prevail during this year’s historic event.

Afterwards, the Ecumenical Patriarch with his entourage went to the headquarters of the Assembly of the Roman Catholic Bishops of France, where he was welcomed with warm speeches by the president of the Archbishop of Reims, Eric de Moulin-Beaufort, who referred, among other things, to environmental initiatives of Mr. Bartholomew, which also inspired Pope Francis. In his opposition, the Patriarch emphasized his fraternal relations with the Pope, their common emphasis on synodality, as well as the opportunities offered for the relations between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches by the upcoming anniversary, in 2025, of the 1700 years since the convocation of A ´ Ecumenical Council in Nice.

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