Ecumenical Patriarch: Orthodoxy transcends national and cultural barriers

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew officiated on Saturday, 5 September 2026, the blessing ceremony marking the opening of the Orthodox Christian Dialogue Centre “Fanarion” in Budapest, as well as the Church of the Three Hierarchs, located within the complex. The Ecumenical Patriarch subsequently presided over the Divine Liturgy at the church.

The impressive newly built complex, located in the centre of Budapest, was donated to the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the Hungarian State in 2018, which also undertook its complete renovation.

The ceremony was attended by hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne and other autocephalous Orthodox Churches, Roman Catholic bishops and clergy, Archons of the Great Church of Christ, Zsolt Semjén, former Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, Professor Georgios Kalantzis, Secretary General for Religious Affairs, representing the Greek Government and the Prime Minister, Katerina Koika, Ambassador and Director General for Public Diplomacy at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representing Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis, as well as the Ambassadors of Greece, Cyprus, Serbia, Georgia, Albania, Bulgaria and Ukraine. University professors and a large…