Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrives in Maryland today

THE BALTIMORE SUN - October 19, 1997

Orthodox Christian leader will visit city on U.S. tour

By John Rivera
THE BALTIMORE SUN

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader for the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians, arrives in Maryland today for a monthlong tour of the United States that includes an 11-hour visit to Baltimore on Thursday.

Bartholomew's Baltimore stop, which includes services at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation and the Roman Catholic Basilica of the Assumption, marks the first time an ecumenical patriarch has visited this city.

Bartholomew, the archbishop of Constantinople, comes to this country not only to visit the Orthodox churches here, but also to pursue an ecumenical agenda of reconciliation between the Orthodox and Jews, Muslims and other Christians.

"To be included in this visit brings recognition to both the Orthodox Cathedral and the general community," said the Rev. Constantine Monios, dean of the Cathedral of the Annunciation.

"To have him in our midst, blessing us from the altar, I feel is the most historic event that ever has or will ever take place in this cathedral."

"The whole Orthodox community in the state of Maryland rejoices in this because their spiritual father comes to visit his spiritual children," Monios said.

Orthodox Christianity comprises 14 self-governing churches that share a common doctrine and ritual. Each church within Orthodox Christianity is governed by a patriarch or metropolitan.

The patriarch of Constantinople, the city that is now Istanbul, Turkey, is considered "first among equals" and has spiritual authority over the other 13 churches but cannot interfere in their affairs.

He does have direct authority over the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

"He is, as first among equals, the representative of the entire Orthodox communion," said the Rev. Mark Odell of Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in East Baltimore.

"We're absolutely thrilled that he's coming to this city and to the country."

After arriving this afternoon at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Bartholomew will spend the first few days of his trip in Washington, where he will meet with congressional leaders and President Clinton, and will be the fifth religious leader to receive the Congressional Gold Medal.

The ecumenical patriarch is well-known for his efforts to improve relations with other churches and religions.

In Washington, he is scheduled to tour the Holocaust Museum and meet with Jewish leaders, and he will meet with delegates who are attending the first Orthodox/Muslim Dialogue in America at Georgetown University.

In Baltimore, the focus will be on Orthodox-Roman Catholic relations.

Bartholomew is visiting Baltimore because Cardinal William H. Keeler invited him after meeting him two years ago in Rome, when the ecumenical patriarch and Pope John Paul II appeared together at St. Peter's Basilica and called for unity between their two churches.

Eastern Orthodoxy co-existed for a millennium with the Western Roman church, until a schism in 1054 caused by political and theological differences resulted in mutual excommunication.

Overtures of reconciliation began with the Second Vatican Council, which concluded in 1965, when the two churches mutually lifted the excommunications.

On Thursday, Bartholomew will lead a prayer service at the Catholic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"It's the first time that an ecumenical patriarch will have come to a Roman Catholic church in the United States and not only enter the church, but preside and preach at a service there," Keeler said.

"It's historic, I believe, because it offers an opportunity for people to appreciate that the two churches that comprise some 80 percent of Christendom are taking significant steps to come closer to each other.

"It's significant also because it offers Christians of other traditions an opportunity to appreciate both the reality and the traditions of the ancient Orthodox churches of the East."

In addition to fostering ecumenical ties, Bartholomew has a keen interest in environmentalism and has been dubbed the "green patriarch" in Europe.

Next month in Santa Barbara, Calif., he will participate with Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in a Symposium on Religion, Science and the Environment organized by the Orthodox Church there.

"He's been talking about this for some years now. He's not a Johnny-come-lately on this," said Vigen Guroian, an Orthodox Christian theologian on the faculties of Loyola College and the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's Seminary and University.

"I think that ecological issues go to the very heart of Orthodox spirituality, which emphasizes creation and redemption."

Bartholomew, a Turkish citizen, was born Demetrios Archontonis 57 years ago on Imvros, a Turkish island in the Aegean Sea.

He graduated from the Theological School of Halki in Istanbul in 1961 and served three years as an officer in the Turkish army reserve.

Fluent in seven languages -- Greek, English, Turkish, Italian, Latin, French and German -- he pursued postgraduate studies in Rome, Munich and Bossey, Switzerland. He returned to the Theological School of Halki in 1968 and was ordained to the priesthood the next year.

When Dimitrios, Bartholomew's predecessor, was elected in 1972, he tapped Bartholomew as one of his closest advisers.

Bartholomew accompanied Dimitrios during his 1990 visit to the United States.

Bartholomew was unanimously elected ecumenical patriarch in 1991 after the death of Dimitrios.

As Bartholomew comes to the United States, he will find a church going through some growing pains.

Orthodox Christians in the United States, although associated with national and ethnic churches, are for the most part assimilated, middle-class Americans and espouse the pluralistic values of American culture.

Some Orthodox churches are attracting converts who do not share their ethnic origin, a prime example being the Rev. Gregory Mathewes-Green, a former Episcopal priest who converted to Orthodoxy several years ago along with several parishioners from St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Ellicott City.

Mathewes-Green now leads the Holy Cross Orthodox Mission in Linthicum.

Efforts to achieve some independence have put the American churches at odds with Orthodox hierarchy.

George Matsoukas, president of the Chicago-based Orthodox Christian Laity, a 2,000-member group advocating greater democracy and adaptation to American culture in the church, noted that the church in the United States "has evolved on this soil in a way that incorporates the values of our culture as well as preserving the faith handed down by our ancestors, the Orthodox faith. I don't think the hierarchy of the church has understood that."

In addition, the 1.5 million-member Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the largest Orthodox church in this country, has weathered a rough year.

Archbishop Iakovos, who led the archdiocese for 37 years, retired last year.

It is widely believed that Bartholomew forced his retirement after Iakovos participated in a 1994 meeting that took a step toward unifying the Orthodox churches in the United States into a single church administration that would grant them some independence from their respective mother churches.
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When Bartholomew selected as Iakovos' successor the Ohio-born Archbishop Spyridon, many Greek Orthodox in the United States were hopeful that their new leader would appreciate their desire for greater autonomy.

"There was a great hope that with the arrival of a new archbishop a year ago, after the long era of the former archbishop, that the church would attend to the needs of the faithful as they have developed here in America," Matsoukas said.

But many lay leaders and some clergy have complained that Spyridon's style is too autocratic.

Monios said much of the furor surrounding Spyridon has abated.

"A new man comes in and wants things done in a certain way, and there are going to be changes that occur," he said. "That really has calmed down tremendously. I think people are understanding the new archbishop and are responding to him."

Itinerary
Thursday. 10 a.m.: Patriarchal doxology at the Greek Orthodox Catherdral
12:15: Meeting at City Hall with Mayor Kurt Schmoke.
1 p.m.: Reception and luncheon at the Convention Center
5 p.m.: Prayer service at the Basilica of the Assumption.
6:30: Reception at the Walters Art Gallery.
7:30: Dinner meeting with Catholic/Orthodox Dialogue Commission at cardinal's residence.

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October 19, 1997