Istanbul, 28 – 30 November 2025. Participation of IAO leadership in the Joint Prayer of the Pope with the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Patronal Feast of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

The leadership of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), namely the IAO Secretary General, Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, and the President of the IAO General Assembly, Mr. Ioan Vulpescu, accompagnied by the IAO Advisor, dr. Kostas Mygdalis, attended the liturgy for the arrival of the Roman Catholic Pope in Istanbul and participated in the patriarchal joint liturgy celebrating the first-called Apostle Andrew, founder of the Church of Constantinople, in the all-revered patriarchal church of St. George in Phanar, headed by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Patriarch of Alexandria Theodoros, in the presence of Pope Leo XIV of Rome, hierarchs of the Churches of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Rome, as well as representatives of diplomatic authorities.

The IAO Secretary General emphasized, “the joint presence of Orthodox and Roman Catholics reflects a stronger meaning for yielding to spiritual and moral values that Christianity has contributed to civilization and which recently tend to be eliminated under the pressure of materialistic and individualistic perceptions.”

Furthermore, he added that “Pope Leo’s journey to Nicaea and Istanbul, his visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Phanar) and his presence at the liturgy and the Patronal Feast in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George constitute irrefutable testimony to the importance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which continues to be the center of the Orthodox world, recognized for its positions and role in global reality. Finally, we hope that this time our expectation for the reopening of the Theological School of Halki will finally be realized, a just request supported by the international community and which the Turkish authorities must approve.”

After the patriarchal joint liturgy, the IAO Secretary General made the following statement: “Historic moments here in Istanbul, at the Phanar, at the center of Orthodoxy. The presence of Pope Leo and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Nicaea of Bithynia on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, and today here on the feast of the Ecumenical Throne, sends a strong message of cooperation and mutual understanding. Orthodox and Catholics must project what unites us, in a Europe that seems to be forgetting Christian values and in a world that is still torn apart by wars and conflicts. A strong message of peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding and reconciliation. Besides, the statements of the primates leave no doubt about their unwavering will to move forward on the path that the Ecumenical Patriarch opened with inter-Christian dialogue from the very beginning of his lengthy pastorate. It is reasonable that the spirit of cooperation and mutual understanding that emanates from here, the center of the Christian world for many centuries, fills every Christian with hope and optimism for tomorrow.”

The IAO Secretary General, on the sidelines of the Pope’s visit, had the opportunity to talk with the US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Mr. Michael J. Rigas, as well as the last Christian member of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. George Aslan.