Demetrios I also Dimitrios I or Demetrius I, born Demetrios Papadopoulos ( el, Δημήτριος Αʹ, Δημήτριος Παπαδόπουλος; September 8, 1914 – October 2, 1991) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from July 16, 1973, to October 2, 1991. He was the 269th successor to St. Andrew (the apostle to whom Bishop of Constantinople, the See of Constantinople traces its roots), and was the spiritual leader of more than 5 million Eastern Orthodox Christians. Before his election as patriarch he served as the metropolitan bishop of Imvros. He was born and died in Constantinopole, in modern day Turkey.

Role in ecumenism

On November 30, 1979, Demetrios proclaimed the establishment of the official theological dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox Church, 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 travelled to the Vatican where he was received by John Paul II. At a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, the patriarchs of East and West together recited the Nicene Creed, Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of the Church in Greek as originally defined in AD 381, without the controversial ''Filioque'' clause. The Pope later recalled the event in his ecumenical encyclical letter ''Ut Unum Sint''. In an 8-city tour of the United States in 1990, Patriarch Demetrios 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".Image of Patriarch Demetrios I with US President George H.W. Bush , 1990-07-08 , https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/file-photo-dated-july-8-1990-shows-former-us-president-news-photo/1067065308

References

1914 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople Theological School of Halki alumni Constantinopolitan Greeks Clergy from Istanbul People from Sarıyer {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub