Ecumenical Patriarch: Mount Athos is a place of peaceful and fraternal coexistence

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided from the throne at the Divine Liturgy celebrated on Sunday, August 9, 2026, at the dependency (Metochion) of the Holy Monastery of Saint Panteleimon of Mount Athos in Galata, Constantinople, on the feast of Saint Panteleimon the Healer according to the Julian calendar.

The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Grand Archimandrite Iakovos, assisted by Tritevon Epifanios, in the presence of a large congregation of Russian-speaking faithful.

In his address, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his joy at visiting the Metochion of Saint Panteleimon and celebrating the feast together with Constantinople’s Russian-speaking Orthodox community. He also highlighted the important place of monasticism in the life of the Orthodox Church.

“Mount Athos occupies a unique place within Orthodox monasticism,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said, describing the Holy Mountain as “a jewel in the mitre of the Ecumenical Patriarch.”

“We are proud that Mount Athos belongs to the spiritual jurisdiction and care of the Mother Church of Constantinople. It is a place of prayer and peaceful, fraternal coexistence, where Greeks, Russians, Serbs, Bulgarians and…