The Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I of Constantinople

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The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and ranks as primus inter pares (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that make up the Eastern Orthodox Church, often being regarded as the spiritual leader of the 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.
During this historic Oxford Union event, The Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I of Constantinople address the Oxford Union and answers audience questions.
ABOUT THE OXFORD UNION SOCIETY: The Union is the world's most prestigious debating society, with an unparalleled reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford. It has been established for 189 years, aiming to promote debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe.

[@Scottirulez]

That iPhone torch guy

[@HiperHiv]

+definatelynotsteve Well iphone is compact and sophisticate like humans - so it's a good symbol

[@JudithMatta]

+steve dell The culture of cynicism never ceases - fueled by an incredible arrogance that comes with being "callow youths".. When you "grow up" you will no doubt cast it away as a defense mechanism not needed by adults who can actually discuss t.

[@JudithMatta]

And you get "sweeter" with each word My My!

[@tonyukukhan]

I really feel honoured to see the Patriach living in Turkey. Meanwhile in Turkey, we don't cross our legs in front of His Holiness; neither as audience nor moderator. Maybe it's not a manner of disrespect in that culture, but seems really inappropriate from the oriental perspective.

[@todd3695]

I agree with you. However to be perfectly honest its nice to see a group of young, most likely secular people give their time to listen to His Holiness. Im sure they didn't mean any disrespect

[@dant5349]

As a British person, I can confirm that in our culture, the crossing of legs is absolutely not in anyway considered disrespectful, and reading this comment is the first time that I've ever heard of any culture regarding the crossing of one's legs as being disrespectful. Not that I'm trying to contradict you, but I would just like to point out that this audience would, like me, never regard crossing legs as being a show of disrespect, and as such no offence was meant. The Patriarch is well acquainted with the culture of the West, so I'm sure he also understood that no offence was meant by this action.

[@armaholic5949]

@@dant5349 In Greece it is considered disrespectful, one cannot do it in front of their high school teacher so it becomes especially disrespectful if they do it in front of the Ecunemical Patriarch.

[@dant5349]

@@armaholic5949 But this isn't Greece, it's the United Kingdom.

[@RunningRiotRaiden]

As someone who attended a Greek Orthodox Parish and crossed their legs I can confirm: in the west, this is not an issue. It is eastern custom. That being said, now that I know this, I try to sit without crossed legs when I’m in the parish

[@kirveis]

Our Patriarch ❤

[@ism94786]

My thanks to The Ecumenical Patriarch for his speech. My first time coming across him, but he appears to be a force for good!

[@dasham8963]

Patrik Bartholomew heretik ve bir masondur. Rahiplikten mahrum edilmeli. O açgözlü bir Amerikan paralı asker. Tıpkı diğer İstanbul piskoposları gibi. Onun yüzünden, binlerce insan Rusya'da ölecek. Rusya bunu unutamayacak. Bartholomew ve piskoposları yok edilecek. Patriarch Bartholomew is a heretic and a mason. He must be deprived of the priesthood. He is a greedy American mercenary. Just like other bishops of Istanbul. Because of him, thousands of people will die in Russia. Russia will not forget this. Russia will wipe out Bartholomew and his bishops... ... ... ...

[@TheGerogero]

Prithee methanks *tips fedora*

[@Jahosaphax]

My heart go'd out to the Patriarch.

[@rolexdenn8842]

As a Muslim citizen of Turkiye, I am so honored to see him living in Istanbul.

[@georgesimos4318]

then tell your fellow turks to give back what belongs to Greece.

[@rolexdenn8842]

Ok we give it back to you, but then you have to give to the Romans :)

[@TagmatonDomestikon]

Modern Greeks are the descendants of the Greek speaking citizens of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. In Greece to this day it's still common for Greeks to refer to themselves and each other as 'Romaios/Romaioi' (Greek for Roman).

[@rolexdenn8842]

To be honest, I would love to see Greeks living in Istanbul, you are all welcome to come and stay here :) I personally think Greeks are master race and contributed so much to this world. I worked for a Greek guy for ever 5 years, I know Greek people are just like us.

[@user-ee7sb8xp2i]

we Are both greeks And romAns

[@MarinaRobb]

@Nikesh Patel - I think he just wasn't confident with his English. It's different reading a speech prepared and translated and answering questions. Father John Chryssavgis is an excellent theologian in his own right.

[@Lafayette320]

I think his English is clear and fine. He is concerned about it, though. He speaks some 5 languages, English was the last one which he learned. Several of his eparchies are primarily English speaking, the Atchdioceses of America; Canada, Thyatira and Great Britain; Australia, and New Zealand. Only America substantially uses English in its Divine Services. When His All Holiness celebrates in the U.S., other than his sermons, he intones very little in English,, "Peace be with you" is typically said by him.

[@mohamedsamir2459]

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I congratulate you on your sitting on the throne of the Apostle Gerges and promise to your Holiness that the Church of Hagia Sophia will be a church again and that this problem will be solved and I invite His Holiness to the Temple of Solomon III to be among the invited

[@BudFieldsPPTS]

Right about the time my frustration over following debates in this House lead me to leave, you bring us this. Thank you so very much for this opportunity, and for the courage to stand for what this presentation represents. May the words be heard, and the works reflect the truths they tell.

[@ben3000]

I'm interested in seeing the debate on BDS. Any chance of uploading it any time soon?

[@OxfordUnion]

+ben3000 we should be uploading this within the next week

[@ben3000]

+OxfordUnion Thanks for your reply. I look forward to it!

[@AymanB]

Just get a desk lamp from some student's room? x_x

[@imitatioDei]

There's a light right on the pulpit 🤣

[@SubtitledArabicSongs]

When are you going yo upload the BDS debate?

[@OxfordUnion]

+SubtitledArabicSongs we should be uploading this within the next week

[@user-jo1oq2eu3z]

I am not a fan of this patriarch but I respect him because of the apostolic succession he has I think he has done more to harm Orthodoxy then to unify it at the recent funeral of the Bulgarian Orthodox patriarch Bartholomew did the services but no other patriarch showed up because he was leading the service. But some of the other churches sent Representatives and some came uninvited. For example the Russian Orthodox Church sent one of their high-ranking Bishops although he did not serve he was giving the top place of honor. Then the head of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine which is run by the government of Ukraine was there uninvited and put at the end of the line because the Bulgarian Orthodox church does not recognize him and all of these things came about all because of the patriarch of Constantinople sticking his nose into politics instead of keeping it in religion

[@lindamorgan2678]

Thank you for this information

[@Grmario85]

Respect for his efforts, for ecology and his spirituality. Hopes for unity with Rome soon. Hopes for a universal religious and humanistic unity for the environment, for healthcare and for peace.

[@yury2749]

Gonna have to get the Marxists out first. Pray to Saint Patty. They are snakes. All three of those words you used now have the opposite meaning.

[@aleksandarstavric2226]

that would be a heresy

[@orclivesmatter]

Beware of Gremlin bots...

[@ki4clz]

do you have an un-edited version...?

[@merlinidlehands3302]

it sounds like a web they made for themselfs listening to this guy

[@merlinidlehands3302]

the holy title this guy LOVES and so does everyone else seems to be messed up IF you ask me its tradishion and worldy where is Humilty ? I ask him this question

[@NP-zl7dz]

Sorry, can somebody explain the protocol of asking questions through somebody else and for the third party to answer for the Patriarch?

[@shannon8535]

+Nikesh Patel The reason there is a protocol here is because the Patriarch doesn't speak English as his first language therefore, if the explanation needs to be expressed in depth or with better discernment it would be discussed between the Clergy so that the explanation is expressed clearly. There is also the concern that the Patriarch would be removed from his place in Turkey, therefore, he can not speak freely about Christianity Publicly according to Muslim Law.Under the secularist Turkish Republic, churches are not allowed to own or maintain property, run independent schools or charitable institutions or even to train new clergy in seminaries. The Catholic Church has no legal status, not even as a “non-Muslim community,” because the Church was categorized as a “foreign” entity some 80 years ago.

[@MystikosMinistries]

The Islamic-based Republic of Turkey (where the scum in Al patriarch resides), oppresses Christians greatly. English is not his all holinesses’s first language, and therefore it is very easy to accidentally say the wrong word when you mean to say something else. It is safer for him to use a translator in order to avoid miscommunication, which could easily lead to him being persecuted. After all, of over 100 patriarchs of Constantinople which existed under Turkish rule, only 21 died naturally (the rest were tortured and killed by the Muslims).

[@auraflowerthompson8203]

I thought this guy was a fusion of professor Snape and Gandalf the Grey.

[@deanticocombar7529]

Why Greeks and other orthodox christians don't get along I mean in the comments people are hating this man why ?

[@NH-zi4jr]

Because orthodox Russians murder orthodox Christians in Ukraine and this is absolutely unacceptable to Greeks.

[@paganpoet3]

Nationalism. And other stupid factors.

[@RPlavo]

@@paganpoet3 like going to war?

[@orclivesmatter]

Ecumenical Patriach the 270th successor to the Apostle Andrew, many years His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriach Bartholomew many many years! ☦️

[@sandro1350]

Love Bartholomew ❤

[@kaisaragustus7067]

Khronia Polla His Holiness Bartholomew, our beloved Ecumenical Patriarch of all Orthodox Churches.

[@sauvageaux]

[@PremKumar-io5bo]

I consider you people as a threat. @ Pope Francis and Bartholomew II

[@lolguytiger45]

@Giorgi Tatarashvili I thought I was listening to a reincarnation of bloody Marx! It is incredible how even ancient religions are polluted with these damned theories. There are no solutions only trade-offs!

[@tepesobrejac4360]

Russian trolls all down in the comment section.

[@johnnyd2383]

You can name all of us who are against the heresies of Bartholomew "Orthodox trolls". It would be more appropriate as many of us are not ethnical Russians and not even under jurisdiction of Russian Patriarchate.

[@tobyroyparkerjr.233]

@@johnnyd2383 yes there are trolls

[@yury2749]

@@johnnyd2383 I can see the problems with Bartholomew, and he is probably a Pope Francis, looking at him. But Mother Mary appeared many many times in Ukraine to tell us that Her Church would be reborn there. Putin is a Globalist stooge. Both sides are fanned by Marxists.

[@johnnyd2383]

@@yury2749 The Church is not "her" but HIS. Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of The Church. And The Church does not need "rebirth" as Lord promised perpetuity of His Church in the history. If we talk bout the rebirth of the Orthodoxy in Ukraine, it depends on the people realizing that The Church is only way of salvation and deciding to repent from their sins, including evil that currently sits in Kiev and is accepted by that very same people.

[@yury2749]

@@johnnyd2383 p.s. Christ is the way to salvation. The Church is supposed to function as a way to Christ. Insofar as it fails in this, it is a false church. And, again, your church is condoning the Holodomor 2.0. Moscow will always be a Swamp.

[@Ignitions-m7h]

Sigur nimicul ce este in ceva face din Europa un Dinar plin de erori. Ma cheamă și George și nimeni nu se mai roagă pentru mine deși am fost și sunt chinuit de 20 de ani de o autoritate Medievală a tutorelui

[@user-qm5oz]

"jolly-old" England, hahaha!

[@catapetrovich6688]

"Archotonis" is supposedly his surname but I know of no Greek to have such an illustrious title for a name? Is it possible that his REAL name is being hidden from the general public? Ever since he was enthronement, the Orthodox world is slowly being turned upside down. I wonder why? His speech is a paradox in the making. No wonder he unilaterally recognizes the so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church and questions our Medieval spiritual leaders who moved the see of the Russian Orthodox Church from Kievan Rus to Moscow. He who questions the past has no clue where the future will get him? It is high time for the Orthodox world to get a NEW "first among equals", an obvious direction where we're now going....

[@WTF3585]

okay "Patrovich", it was not "unilateral", a large amount of Ukrainian church officials asked for autocephaly and more importantly, the parliament did, having said that, he is also the only one who can give autocephaly to a church, so not, it's not high time to get a new "first among equals", especially if that first among equals is Russian, and thus in the pocket of the power of the russian government

[@yury2749]

Moscow will always be a swamp. Ukraine is the proper head of the Patriarchate for the Slavic world.

[@catapetrovich6688]

@@yury2749 Of course, once the SMO is over!

[@yury2749]

@@catapetrovich6688 I looked it up and still can't figure out what SMO stands for. I did read am articlentalking about ROC followers in Ukraine and how .... uncomfortable .... thungs are for them currently. Moscow will Always be a swamp.

[@foxtrot4755]

​@@yury2749 you repeat so often about the “swamp” that hatred has corroded your brain like sulfuric acid corrodes human tissue. Moscow is the Third Rome, in comparison with which modern Kyiv is stuck in the last century, it is stuck in backwardness, dirt, wickedness and hatred. “90% of Ukrainians have mental disorders,” the Minister of Health of Ukraine officially stated. Reminds me of the Germans at the end of the Second World War, anticipating the coming punishment and repentance, doesn’t it? You need to think more about the health of your nation, and also beg God’s forgiveness for what your nation has been doing for the last 9 years, starting with the burning of people in Odessa. For the end of this war is near.

[@merlinidlehands3302]

this priest is as much a sinner as you or I are stop KIDDING yourselfs

[@josephsaab7208]

who said he's not? no one is kidding anyone here, except maybe you

[@one_step_sideways]

What are you even talking about

[@hsap2223]

Anathema! Anathema! Anathema!

[@user-qm8gx2lf7c]

Многая и благая лета Вселенскому Патриарху Варфоломею. Ис полла эти, деспота.

[@josephperkins4080]

Ahh the betrayer of Orthodoxy

[@knockout4121]

How? I am just looking into this

[@MARINVIEW]

Istanbul not Constantinople

[@earthredalert]

Both names are ok. It is not a big issue.

[@orthodoxouwatje4632]

Istanbul is a Greek word anyway 😆

[@EmeraldPixelGamingEPG]

Why in the world?

[@uluhakan8643]

And the Jews say:. Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they!

[@josephsaab7208]

Allah is fake, he doesn't exist. Jesus Christ is the Lord

[@johnnyd2383]

This unhappy man committed many misdeeds against One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church and should have been deposed by now. He exploits the love Church towards sinners and remains in his seat adding more salt to the injuries he inflicted. May God have a mercy on his soul.! He does not know what he is doing.! An old fool... . No wonder that God had moved the center of the Orthodoxy out of Constantinople, just as He moved it out of Rome prior to the fall of Rome into heresies.

[@tobyroyparkerjr.233]

Johnny bravo leave them alone

[@nicholasgeranios]

Jesus said never call your brother a fool or your in danger of Hell Fire... you blind yourself spiritually and close your heart when you write like this bro! And I think you've many other misunderstandings behind history and biblical teachings, too many to list. Buddha said there are no stupid decisions, only uneducated ones. Look at Peter's role a little closer in the Gospel and what began to form...A Church with leadership. In the gospel the buck stops with Peter. He was groomed for this role... Jesus knew there'd be a Church and he prayed for unity in it... it was His last prayer before being arrested. I'm praying you get a deeper understanding of history and divine truth instead of man made garbage.

[@yury2749]

Center of Orthodoxy is Kyiv.

[@foxtrot4755]

​@@yury2749Kyiv has historically never been a center of Orthodoxy. Moreover, today in Ukraine there is persecution of Orthodox Christians, and the main metropolitan of Ukraine is subject to repression by the Ukronazis and the Zelensky regime. Ukraine has been ruled by Satanists for 9 years now, seizing and destroying Orthodox churches.

[@paganpoet3]

Center of Orthodoxy is Kyiv.??? THE CENTER OF HUMAN RACE IS IN KIEV. Actually the center of the whole universe is in Kiev. @@yury2749

[@lolguytiger45]

Seems heretical

[@foxtrot4755]

The main heresiarch in world Orthodoxy. Lord, protect all Orthodox from ecumenism.

[@RPlavo]

And war!

[@timothy9434]

The Cardinal of Istanbul

[@70AD-user45]

No. He's the Patriarch of Constantinople.✝

[@timothy9434]

@@70AD-user45 No. He is a traitor. He pimps out Holy Orthodoxy to Rome and other heretical bodies. Just like you see here. He serves the US State Dept for money while betraying the Orthodox Church in the process. Now he has entered into a dark and foul "communion" with not one but two schismatic and anathamatised Ukrainian fascist sects full of homosexuals and deposed fornicators. Istanbul is a dead Church. A fish rots first from its head. He is rotten and unworthy. ANAXIOS!

[@70AD-user45]

@@timothy9434 He's sold out the Holy Orthodox Church for the interests of the harlot church in the Ukraine. He's getting the Ukraine ready for membership of the anti-christian and pagan E.U. Who knows, the harlot church in the Ukraine could be the harlot in the book of Revelation! The Orthodox church should give him an ANATHEMA. He calls himself an "ecumenical patriarch" and is becoming too worldly. He should read this verse: "Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”, John 18: 36. The Ecumenical Patriarch is of the secular world and has forgotten the spiritual world of Christ's Holy Orthodox church.

[@piusaditya5206]

Never

[@tobyroyparkerjr.233]

@@70AD-user45 kgb

[@susananastasiastavros1402]

All the Freemasons are clapping for you, Judas-Bartholomew, the blind are leading the blind, and those who had the light of Christ Jesus but has now gone dim, and whose name you do not speak or revere.