Patriarch Bartholomew: Accusations against Constantinople distort the truth
The head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate has rejected accusations of violating the established order of the Orthodox Church.
On December 25, 2025, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, in an address to Patriarch Daniel and the delegation of the Bulgarian Church, touched upon the theme of unity in Orthodoxy. He noted that “in recent times, some have attempted to create divisions by portraying the Great Church as acting arbitrarily and transgressing the established order. This is undoubtedly a deception and a deliberate distortion of the truth,” the head of the Constantinopolitan Church emphasized.
The primacy of Constantinople was formed over the course of centuries and therefore, as the Patriarch stated, “the unchanging and reverent preservation of the patristic legacy cannot be an object of criticism”.
In conclusion, Patriarch Bartholomew pointed out that the question of the primacy of the Constantinopolitan Primate “has recently been turning into a stumbling block among the Orthodox, because logic and self-interested aspirations prevail in some, and they attempt to overthrow Tradition”.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Patriarch Bartholomew commemorated the head of the OCU in the presence of the Bulgarian Patriarch.
