Munich: Presentation of two awards to the Ecumenical Patriarch

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received two Bavarian awards on Friday, 6 June 2025, at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria, in Munich, Germany.

For the first time, two Roman Catholic Institutions in Bavaria, the Catholic Academy of Bavaria and the Benedictine Monastery of Niederaltaich, jointly presented this year’s awards to His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, for his contribution to Ecumenical Dialogue, that is, to the rapprochement of Christian Churches.

The President of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, delivered the official commendation, followed by His Eminence Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich. The Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery, Minister of State Dr. Florian Hermann, delivered the welcome address.

The Ecumenical Patriarch also delivered an inspiring speech in German.

The announcement of the award states, among other things, that “Bartholomew I is one of the most devoted supporters of genuine ecumenical cooperation within Orthodoxy. Anti-Western or anti-ecumenical sentiments are foreign to him. Such a presence of Orthodoxy in the global ecumenical movement also enriches ecumenical activity within the West.”

The event was accompanied by music, while in the centre of the hall was the icon of the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, which was created at the initiative of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of Germany.

Source: fosfanariou.gr