Chichester Cathedral is honoured to welcome His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople this weekend (20 - 22 June 2025), who will be visiting alongside other Orthodox dignitaries.
His All Holiness is attending the Nicaea Received conference, organised by the Ecclesiastical Law Society. The event marks the seventeen hundredth anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which produced the classic statement of Christian faith in the Holy Trinity known as the Nicene Creed. This significant milestone coincides with the local 950th anniversary of the Diocese and Cathedral of Chichester.
The Ecumenical Patriarch is regarded as the spiritual leader of the world’s approximately 300 million Orthodox Christians. Although the Orthodox churches are autocephalous (each has its own head and is not subject to the authority of an external patriarch or archbishop) the Ecumenical Patriarch holds the position of primus inter pares (first among equals) among the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Empire: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The first bishop of the see of Constantinople was St Andrew, one of Jesus’s disciples.
The see of Byzantium rose to prominence when Emperor Constantine designated it a second capital of the Roman Empire and renamed it Constantinople. Today, it is known as Istanbul, in modern-day Turkey.
It is a very great honour for the Cathedral to welcome His All Holiness: a Christian leader of the greatest distinction and, in his office, successor to the apostle St Andrew. We are thrilled that the Patriarch and his party will attend Evensong at the Cathedral, sung by the Cathedral Choir on 20 and 21 June, and that on the latter date he will be preaching here. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Ecclesiastical Law Society for making this possible.
The Dean of Chichester, the Very Revrerend Dr Edward Dowler
During his 34-year tenure as Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness has travelled extensively, making many pastoral visits around the world. He has spoken out against the persecution of Christians in many regions, including Turkey. He is also a leading voice on environmental care and the importance of ecumenical dialogue. Most recently, he has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and formally recognised the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.
📸 - The Rev’d Gerry Lynch