Ecumenical Patriarch Batholomew referred to the request of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to reopen the historic seminary of Halki, during his homily at the Holy Monastery of Zoodochos Pigi in Constantinople on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers, May 12.
Referring to the staffing of the Patriarchal Court and the Provinces of the Ecumenical Throne with young and educated clerics, Ecumenical Patriarch pointed out:
“It would be ideal if the Halki seminary could reopen, which has provided education to many importance persons to the Church, to our Church and other Autocephalous Sister Churches.
We will not stop praying, persevering, and trying to re-open our School because we regard it as our inalienable right. While there are too many Islamic seminaries in Turkey, I do not see the logic in preventing Christian citizens of the Republic of Turkey from having their own theological school. We do not ask for more seminaries, nor to build a new one. We want the seminary we already have and it needs to be reopened.
On his part, Metropolitan of Sassima, on the occasion of the election of the new Archbishop of Australia, and Archbishop of America, noted that “in this way, the tradition of the Mother Church continues for centuries, and the generations of people serving the Mother Church succeed one another.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch presided over the Liturgy concelebrated along with the Hierarchs of the Throne, Augustinos of Germany, Germanos of Tranupoulis, Sotirios of Toronto, Makarios of Anaea, Evgenios of Rethymno and Avlopotamos, Amphilochios of Ganos and Chora, Damaskinos of Kydonia and Apokoronas, Nathanael of Kos and Nisyros, Elpidophoros of America, Makarios of Australia, Chrysostomos of Symi, and Jeremiah of Aspendos, while the Divine Word was proclaimed by Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago.
The Divine Liturgy was attended by Archbishop Nektarios of Anthedon and Patriarchal Commissioner in Constantinople, clergy, monks and nuns, Archons, Consul General of Ukraine in Constantinople Oleksandr Gaman, Consul of Greece in Constantinople Danae Vassilaki, and many faithful from Contantinople, Greece, America and other countries abroad.
After the Divine Liturgy, the Ecumenical Patriarch awarded the Office of Pronotarios of the Great Church of Christ to theologian Konstantinos Vliagkoftis, member of the Metropolis of Germany.
Then the Ecumenical Patriarch offered a Trisagion service in the tomb of his predecessor, Patriarch Demetrios.
