A closely watched meeting between the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His All Holiness Bartholomew, with the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, has been set for May 23.
Relations between the sides have reportedly been tested over recent years, with the latest disagreement revolving around a draft agreement between the government and Ieronymos, a proposed that text that would have essentially altered Church-state relations in Greece. Differences of opinion have also reportedly been expressed on the issue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate granting the Tomos of autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In a related development, the first Secretary of the Archbishopric of Athens, Bishop Simeon, on Wednesday visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s seat.
The purpose of his visit was to officially deliver an invitation to the Ecumenical Patriarch by the Archbishop of Greece for May 23, and specifically for the inauguration of a research and care center for the elderly in the coastal town of Dilesi, in Viotia prefecture, north of Athens.
His All Holiness Bartholomew accepted the invitation.
The canonical relationship between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece is enshrined in Article 3 of Greece’s constitution.