With exceptional splendor and deep ecclesiastical reverence, a historic visit is taking place on Imbros as Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew honors the completion of 65 years of uninterrupted service to the priesthood on his native island. Joining the head of the Orthodox Church are Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodore II and the Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania Anastasios, lending extraordinary prestige and symbolism to the celebrations.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on Imbros — moments of devotion and historic visits
The three church leaders traveled together by ferry to Imbros. Late on Tuesday afternoon, they arrived at the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in the island’s capital — a place steeped in memory, as it was in this very church on August 13, 1961, that the young Dimitrios Archontonis received the first degree of Holy Orders.
On the morning of Wednesday, August 12, the program included particularly moving stops. The Ecumenical Patriarch, accompanied by his distinguished guests, visited:
- The small museum created in honor of His All-Holiness’s many years of service and dedication.
- The historic café-barbershop of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s late father, evoking cherished memories from his childhood years on the island.
The visit culminates in a Patriarchal concelebration of the church leaders, held in the presence of a large congregation of faithful and Imbriots from the diaspora who traveled to the island for this landmark celebration.
Photos from the arrival, visits and solemn moments of the church leaders on Imbros
