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Demetrios I of Constantinople

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Demetrios I of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
Installed16 July 1972
Term ended2 October 1991
PredecessorAthenagoras I of Constantinople
SuccessorBartholomew I of Constantinople
Personal details
Born
Demetrios Papadopoulos

8 September 1914
Constantinople,
Ottoman Empire
Died2 October 1991 (aged 77)
Phanar, Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityOttoman and Turkish
DenominationEastern Orthodox Church

Demetrios I of Constantinople, also Dimitrios I or Demetrius I, born Demetrios Papadopoulos (Greek: Δημήτριος Αʹ, Δημήτριος Παπαδόπουλος; 8 September 1914 – 2 October 1991), was the 268th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 16 July 1972 to 2 October 1991, serving as the spiritual leader of 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians.[1][2] Before his election as patriarch, he served as the metropolitan bishop of Imvros. He was born in Constantinople, where he also died.[2]

Role in ecumenism

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On 30 November 1979, Demetrios proclaimed the establishment of the official theological dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church, at that time led by Pope John Paul II. He also met with two archbishops of Canterbury representing the Anglican Communion.

In 1987, Demetrios I travelled to the Vatican where he was received by Pope John Paul II.[3] At a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, the patriarchs of East and West together recited the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of the Church in Greek as originally defined in 381 AD, without the controversial Filioque clause. The Pope later recalled the event in his ecumenical encyclical letter Ut Unum Sint.[4]

In an 8-city tour of the United States in 1990, Patriarch Demetrios I met with President George H. W. Bush, with Christian and Jewish leaders, and with public officials, and spread the message that: "Today, Orthodoxy is not a strange or alien factor in America. It is flesh of its flesh and bone of its bone".[5][6]

Notes and references

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  1. ^ Barron, James (3 October 1991). "Dimitrios I, Eastern Orthodox Patriarch, 77, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Patriarch Dimitrios I Dies, Body To Lie In State". Associated Press. 3 October 1991. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Joint Declaration of Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Dimitrios I". christianunity.va. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Ut Unum Sint (25 May 1995) | John Paul II". vatican.va. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  5. ^ Steinfels, Peter (3 July 1990). "PATRIARCH BEGINS 8-CITY TOUR OF U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  6. ^ Image of Patriarch Demetrios I with US President George H .W. Bush |date=8 July 1990 |https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/file-photo-dated-july-8-1990-shows-former-us-president-news-photo/1067065308 Archived 13 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine
Eastern Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
1972 – 1991
Succeeded by