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Bartholomew I to open the Faith and Order Plenary Commission meeting
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009
Who is Bartholomew I, you might ask? He's the ecumenical patriarch. And what's the ecumenical patriarch? He's the head of all Orthodox Christians on all continents which do not fall under the jurisdiction of the autocephalous (independent) or autonomous (semi-independent) Churches.
Confused?
Christianity has a long and complicated history, and even within one "communion," like Orthodoxy, things aren't always clear-cut. But here's what you need to know about Bartholomew I:
- He's the head of a whole bunch of Orthodox churches and bodies around the world, and you can think of him kind of like an Orthodox pope.
- His offices - the Ecumenical Patriarchate - are in Constantinople, otherwise known as Istanbul, Turkey.
- He's known as the "Green Patriarch" because of his commitment to environmentalism.
For more on the ecumenical patriarch, check out this link: http://www.patriarchate.org/
We'll also be hearing from other interesting folks throughout the week:
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/events-sections/faith-and-order-plenary-commission-2009/news/bios.html
Posted by Aimee Moiso
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