Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: 33 years of charismatic leadership on the Ecumenical Throne
For 33 whole years – that is, around a third of a century – a bright ecclesiastical figure adorns the Patriarchal Throne in the Queen of Cities.
It was 33 years ago today, on 2 November 1991, when in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George at the Phanar, Divine Providence placed the lamp “on the lampstand”, so that in a period of multiple challenges for humanity, the light of the Orthodox faith would shine bright to all the ends of the Universe.
If the Orthodox world prayed to obtain a spiritual father and leader who would stand as a watchful guard of the sacred canons and traditions of the Church and at the same time be ahead of his time, illuminating the unknown paths to the many and elevating the role of Orthodoxy on the international stage, these prayers were indeed fulfilled on that blessed day, with the ascension of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Apostolic and Ecumenical Throne of Constantinople.
“We will be a shepherd ready to sacrifice his soul for the sake of the sheep,” the then 51-year-old Hierarch declared without hesitation, during his enthronement ceremony in the packed Patriarchal Church.
The sacrificial ministry has since been the core of the blessed Patriarchate of the Primate of Orthodoxy, a fact recognised by his spiritual children near and far, including his flock in Australia which recently had the blessing to welcome him, host him and express to him up close their deep gratitude, love and respect.
After all, for 33 whole years – that is, about a third of the hundred-year life and course of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia – Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew offered himself sacrificially and for the Christ-loving faithful of the fifth continent, with paternal agony and constant struggle for the stability of the local Church and for her progress in Christ.
That is why even today from the distant land of Australia, together with our spiritual brothers and sisters everywhere, we bind ourselves to the Lord with all our souls and pray for Him to keep our Ecumenical Patriarch healthy and prosperous; to strengthen him physically and spiritually so that he may continue unhindered in his strong, wise and charismatic leadership, for the Orthodox Church and for of all humanity which is in need, like never before, of bright and insightful personalities.
From the “Vema” editorial team
