Most Ukrainians and readers of the Kyiv Post probably know Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople as the grantor of autocephaly—ecclesiastical self-governance independent of the Moscow Patriarchate—to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine under the primacy of Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kyiv in January 2019.
Perhaps less known, except to close observers of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, is Bartholomew’s advocacy for many of the themes dearest to the hearts of activists for social, economic, and environmental justice around the globe. Over the past three years, for instance, he has hosted an annual series of international conferences under the name of Forum on Modern Slavery, two in Istanbul (Constantinople) and one in Buenos Aires. His consistent voice in support of environmental issues has long earned him the moniker of “the Green Patriarch.”
In a letter dated Nov. 9, Bartholomew set his social and political agenda on full display when he joined the global chorus of political and religious leaders congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris on their decisive electoral victory earlier this month. Given the Phanar’s ecclesiastical culture which practices meticulous attention to the wording of its official communications, the Patriarch’s cry of joy at the imminent reversal of the Trump administration’s most harmful policies could not ring out more clearly.
Bartholomew recalls his personal friendship for Biden from his term as vice president, and expresses his “great delight and pride” and “joy and enthusiasm” at Biden’s election as 46th president of the United States. He conveys his confidence specifically in the president-elect’s approach to the natural environment, climate change, the Paris Agreement, religious freedom, human rights, justice in all its forms, and the peaceful coexistence of the Middle East’s multiple communities of faith. As part of the latter reference’s subtext, we should likely understand the stifling constraints under which the Turkish government forces the Patriarchate to operate and the reconversion of Hagia Sophia—the crown jewel of Orthodox church architecture since its construction in the early 6th century—for use as a functioning mosque in July after 85 years as a museum. These constraints include Ankara’s closure of the Patriarchate’s theological school and high school since 1971, citizenship restrictions on who may be elected as Ecumenical Patriarch, and even interference in what the Patriarchate calls itself.
In what reads as a thinly veiled rebuke of Donald Trump’s relentless vulgarity and disregard for the most basic social niceties, Bartholomew writes to Biden, “But beyond our Patriarchate, there are millions of Americans, as well as citizens of the entire free world, to whom you now offer hope (I could say conviction) for a better future, where the eternal values and ideals of a civilized humanity may prevail.” The Patriarch joins in the enormous, collective sigh of relief heard around the world at the announcement of the Biden-Harris victory.
Significantly, midway through his letter the Patriarch switches from addressing Biden as “Mr. President-elect” to “Mr. President” in another apparent rebuke of Trump, this time for his baseless claims and conspiracy theories of a stolen election.
(Read the full text of Patriarch Bartholomew’s letter here.)
At a time when the institutional apparatus and the laity of the Orthodox Church have become too often associated with the uglier side of social and political life—nationalism, ethnic supremacy, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, disregard for the most fundamental rights of the racial or religious “other,” far-right reactionism, etc.—Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and his all-inclusive care for the peoples of the world and for the planet itself shine as a light of Orthodox Christianity at its very best. He stands as both inheritor and bequeather of contemporary Orthodox theology’s positive engagement with modernity and postmodernity from the first half of the 19th century to the present.
In a supreme twist of irony, Bartholomew’s vision of Orthodox Christianity and its role in the world reflects that of the greatest names in modern Russian theology since the 19th century far better than the current occupant of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Giacomo Sanfilippo is an Orthodox Christian of Ukrainian and Lemko descent on his mother’s side, founding editor of the world’s most popular independent Orthodox blog, and Ph.D. candidate in Theological Studies at Trinity College in the University of Toronto. He is writing a doctoral thesis entitled “Conjugal Friendship and the Sacrament of Love: Father Pavel Florensky’s Orthodox Theology of Same-Sex Love.” See his previous articles for the Kyiv Post here, and follow him on Twitter @GiacoSanfilippo.
