Legacy of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew honored at HEI colloquium

On September 14-15, the Huffington Ecumenical Institute (HEI) at Hellenic College Holy Cross, in partnership with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, hosted an interdisciplinary colloquium in recognition of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s unprecedented thirty-five-year tenure as Archbishop of Constantinople.

The colloquium featured expert panel presentations on the ecclesial, social, and pastoral dimensions of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s ministry as “First Among Equals” shepherding the global Orthodox Church.

Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Executive Director of HEI, opened the colloquium by expressing his personal admiration for the Ecumenical Patriarch. As Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne, Fr. Chryssavgis has worked closely with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew over the past four decades: editing three volumes of his collected speeches, recording his remarkable life’s story, and serving as his advisor on environmental issues.

From his enthronement in 1991, Ecumenical Patriarch “did not procrastinate in assessing the past and pointing the way of the future,” Fr. Chryssavgis said. “He landed with his feet…