Romanian Church invites Bartholomew for 100th anniversary of autocephaly
Patriarch Bartholomew's visits to Romania and Bulgaria will help strengthen the unity of the Orthodox Church, according to a Phanar spokesman.
Metropolitan Theodoretos of Laodicea, Bishop of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, said that the Romanian Orthodox Church invited Patriarch Bartholomew to Bucharest for celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of autocephaly.
Reporting on his co-service with OCU "hierarchs" and bishops of the Bulgarian Church in Istanbul, Metropolitan Theodoretos noted "two very important events" which, in his opinion, "contribute to the efforts of the Orthodox Church to regain its unity".
The first event is the invitation of Patriarch Bartholomew to the election and enthronement of the new Primate of the Bulgarian Church, which will take place on 30 June 2024.
He said that for the sake of the trip to Bulgaria, the head of the Phanar changed his schedule in order to "attend and see the efforts made for the unity of the Orthodox faith".
The second event is related to the Romanian Patriarchate's invitation of the Phanar head to Bucharest to celebrate the 100th anniversary of autocephaly.
"There are some efforts, some hopes that the Orthodox Church will regain its unity," said Metropolitan Theodoretos.
As reported by the UOJ, the Phanar hierarch explained why Bartholomew commemorates the ROC head at the liturgy.
