On Sunday, May 11, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over a Patriarchal Divine Liturgy at the Church of Saint Nicholas of the Philanthropic Society of Athens in Kolonaki, marking the church’s 150th anniversary.
The church, a post-Byzantine landmark built by benefactor Andreas Syngros, was transferred to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 2023.
The service was attended by several high-ranking clerics, including His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, and numerous Metropolitans of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece.
Prominent government and civic leaders were also present, including Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Nikitas Kaklamanis, Greek Ministers Nikos Dendias and Niki Kerameus, Mayor of Athens Haris Doukas, Mount Athos Governor Alkiviadis Stefanis, UK Ambassador Matthew Lodge, and shipowner Athanasios Martinos, along with a large crowd of faithful.
In his speech, Patriarch Bartholomew expressed gratitude to Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece for facilitating the church’s transfer and highlighted the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.
He emphasised the Council’s enduring legacy, particularly the Nicene Creed, and reiterated his hopes — shared with the late Pope Francis — for a common Easter celebration between Orthodox and Roman Catholics. He expressed a wish that the new Pope Leo XIV would express the same interest in this goal.
Following the service, the Patriarch conducted a memorial prayer for the late Maria Konstantoudaki-Kitromilidou and conferred the title of Archon Protekdikos on lawyer Leonidas Maravelis.
In the afternoon, he travelled to Boeotia to be hosted by Archbishop Ieronymos, and is scheduled to return to Constantinople on Monday.
