On Wednesday, March 27, 2024, the packed Spiritual Center of the Holy Metropolis of Drama hosted the book presentation of Archimandrite Gerasimos Vlatitsis “The ecclesiastical diplomacy and policy of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Mr. Bartholomew, during his 30-year Patriarchate”.

The event was organized by the Ladies’ Union of Drama – House of Open Hospitality (H.O.H.) under the auspices of the Holy Metropolis, the Regional Unity of Drama, and the Municipality of Drama. The book was presented by the Most Reverend Metropolitan of Drama, Mr. Dorotheos, and the Associate Professor of the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Grigoris Liantas, while the coordination was undertaken by the PhD candidate of the Faculty of Theology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Kyriakos Moysidis.

The book informs the reading public of the less prominent aspects of the Ecumenical Patriarch Mr. Bartholomew’s many years of action, such as his ecological policy, always in the light of the theological point of view, but also of his social and charitable work.

Some of the topics covered in the book in its individual chapters are:

Outline of the personality of the Ecumenical Patriarch,

Inter-Orthodox dialogues of the Ecumenical Patriarchate culminating in the Holy and Great Synod of the Orthodox Church (Crete 2016),

Inter-Christian dialogues of the Ecumenical Patriarchate,

Inter-Religious dialogues of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the contribution of the Ecumenical Patriarch to the ecumenical movement,

Aspects of the social and charitable work of the Ecumenical Patriarch.

The event was honored with the presence of the local authority, MEP Stelios Kympouropoulos, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Markos Bolaris, multitude of priests and citizens. Greetings were addressed by the Mayor of Drama, Mr. George Papadopoulos, the representative of the Deputy District Governor of Drama, and the president of the Ladies’ Union of Drama – H.O.H. Aliki Tsiamoura.