Opening of the Fourth Bioethics Conference of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

The proceedings of the Fourth Bioethics Conference of the Ecumenical Patriarchate commenced on Friday, 2 October 2026, in the Main Hall of the “THEOMITOR” Conference Centre of the Holy Metropolis of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, on the theme of “Declining Birth Rates”.

The Service of the Blessing of the Waters was celebrated by Bishop Isidoros of Andida, while the formal opening session was ably chaired by Metropolitan Gregorios of Peristeri, Professor at the School of Theology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Archimandrite Romanos Anastasiadis oversaw the overall coordination of the speakers. Following the Service of the Blessing of the Waters, Archbishop Makarios of Australia, Representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Mother Church and President of the Conference Organising Committee, read the venerable Message of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who emphasised, among other things:

“Declining birth rates are frequently attributed to economic hardship, changing social conditions and a misguided understanding of women’s emancipation. We do not deny the negative impact of all the above upon the reduction in the number of births and…