Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

At dawn, as shadows linger over the peninsula of Mount Athos in northern Greece, a long line of pilgrims queues in front of a modest office in Ouranoupoli. Their destination? The ancient monastic community of Mount Athos. Among these pilgrims, Romanians dominate, seeking spiritual solace in place of the now-risky Holy Land.

The American School of Classical Studies in Athens announced that the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople will receive the Gennadius Award for the year 2025, recognizing its enduring contribution to Greek learning and Hellenism.

The award will be presented during the School’s annual gala, to be held on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at Gotham Hall in New York City.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, has called for a unified celebration of Easter for all Christians.

A 40-year-old monk was found dead Thursday on a rocky shoreline in the Monoxylitis area of Mount Athos, Greece's all-male Orthodox monastic community. He had been reported missing in late November.

Local police and firefighters assisted in recovering the body, which was then transported to the mainland by private boat.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, based in Istanbul, has once again proposed the idea of celebrating Easter on the same day for both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.

A grand musical event was organized at the historic Zografeion Lyceum in Istanbul, Turkey, in memory of Apostle Andrew of Asia Minor, the founder of the church of Constantinople, on the occasion of the Thronal Feast Day of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The Greek government has announced the creation of 600 new clerical positions to support the ancient patriarchates of Constantinople (in Turkey), Alexandria (in Egypt) and Jerusalem (in Israel), and the Monastery of Sinai in Egypt.

Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, has sent a letter to US President-elect Donald Trump congratulating him on his election and extending his wishes for health, strength, and success in his upcoming second term.

The monasteries of Mountain Athos don’t want to pay tax on the rents they collect from properties they own outside the Athos Peninsula.

By appealing to the Council of State they are seeking a return to the tax regime that was in place before 2010, when their income from rentals outside the region was not taxed.