(RNS) — Bartholomew I, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople and one of Orthodox Christianity’s most influential leaders, has begun a nearly two-week apostolic visit to the United States that included a meeting with President Donald Trump.
The trip, which began Monday (Sept. 15), is the first in four years for the Istanbul-based church hierarch and his eighth since he was installed in 1991. In addition to meetings with Greek Orthodox Americans, the patriarch spoke before the State Department and with Vice President JD Vance and congressional leaders. Bartholomew will also accept an award for his environmental activism next week.
Under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which is an arm of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the church has some 1.5 million faithful in the U.S., and more than 500 parishes and 20 monasteries.
Trump is the sixth U.S. president he has met. During their hourlong meeting, the two broached many topics, including the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Orthodox-Catholic relations and Turkey’s Christian minority. The patriarch also addressed Trump’s efforts to broker a truce in the Russia-Ukraine war, thanking him for his work toward ending the war.
Bartholomew has …