Solemn celebration of Feast of Saints Peter and Paul at the Phanar (PHOTOS&VIDEO)

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Divine Liturgy celebrated on Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Patriarchal Church on the feast of the Holy Glorious, All-Praised and Chief Apostles Peter and Paul.

Among those attending the service were Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Myra, Metropolitan Gregory of Ankara, Bishop Gregory of Abydos, clergy, monks from Mount Athos, and numerous faithful.

Following the dismissal, the Athonite monks presented to the Ecumenical Patriarch relics of three recently canonized saints of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate: Saint Dionysios of Vatopedi (of Kolitsou), Saint Petronios the Righteous of Prodromou, and Saint Niphon Ionescu of Prodromou, all of whom lived and pursued the ascetic life on Mount Athos.

On the eve of the feast, Metropolitan Gregory of Ankara, Chief Secretary of the Holy and Sacred Synod, presided over the Great Vespers service at the Patriarchal Church.

During both days of the celebrations, relics of the Holy Apostle Peter were displayed for the faithful to pay their respects. The relics were gifted to the Church of Constantinople in 2019 by the late Pope Francis as a gesture of fraternity and…