Patriarch Bartholomew convenes meeting of four Patriarchates

Patriarch Bartholomew in Budapest. Photo: fosfanariou.gr

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has taken the initiative to convene a meeting of the primates of the four ancient Patriarchates at the Phanar. This was reported by the UOJ Greek edition, citing the patriarch’s September 4, 2026 address in Budapest.

Patriarch Bartholomew invited the primates of the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem to meet at the residence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on November 30, 2026. The date coincides with the feast of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called, who is regarded in church tradition as the founder of the Church of Constantinople.

The Patriarch announced the initiative to participants in the 27th International Congress of the Society for the Law of the Eastern Churches (SLEC) in Budapest. He said letters proposing the meeting had already been sent to the heads of the three Patriarchates so that together, as “the four remaining ancient apostolic sees,” they could “reflect synodally on the challenges facing the people of God today in a rapidly changing world.”

In his address, Patriarch Bartholomew spoke at length about the pentarchy – the ancient system of the five principal sees of the Christian world: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. He said these Eastern sees remain steadfast pillars of the apostolic tradition and, together with the Church of Rome, formed the “five-stringed lyre” of the universal Church in the first millennium, participating in the seven Ecumenical Councils.

As the UOJ reported, Patriarch Bartholomew said at the same congress in Budapest that he expects full communion with the Roman Catholic Church to be restored.

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