Patriarch of Constantinople receives head of Jerusalem Church at Phanar
Patriarchs Theophilos and Bartholomew in Istanbul discussed inter-Orthodox and other pressing issues in Istanbul.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, during a visit to the patriarchal residence at the Phanar, the Greek edition of the UOJ reports.
The meeting between the primates took place in the Throne Room of the Patriarchal House. The Jerusalem Patriarch was said to have accepted repeated invitations from Patriarch Bartholomew.
Upon his arrival at the residence, the guest was welcomed by clergy of the Patriarchal Court led by Metropolitan Grigorios of Ankara, after which Patriarch Theophilos III venerated the holy relics and shrines in the Patriarchal Cathedral. Also present at the meeting were Metropolitan Joseph of Proikonnesos, Bishop Paisios of Xanthoupolis, members of the Patriarchal Court, and members of Theophilos III’s delegation – Archbishop Nektarios of Anthedon, representative of the Holy Sepulchre in Istanbul, Archdeacon Mark, and lay staff members.
Following the official portion of the visit, the primates held a private conversation during which they discussed inter-Church relations and other current matters of mutual interest. Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his personal concern over the situation facing Christians in the Holy Land and voiced hope for peace in the Middle East for the benefit of all the region’s peoples.
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos is scheduled to return to the Jerusalem Patriarchate tomorrow.
As the UOJ previously reported, a vicar bishop of the Odesa Eparchy earlier addressed whether the UOC was holding talks with the Phanar.
