Demetrios I of Constantinople, also ''Dimitrios I'' or ''Demetrius I'', born ''Demetrios Papadopoulos'' (; 8 September 1914 – 2 October 1991), was the 269th

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

from 16 July 1972 to 2 October 1991, serving as the spiritual leader of 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians. Before his election as patriarch, he served as the

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

of Imvros. He was born in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where he also died.

Role in ecumenism

On 30 November 1979, Demetrios I proclaimed the establishment of the official theological dialogue between the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, at that time led by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He also met with two

archbishops of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine ...

representing the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

. In 1987, Demetrios I travelled to the Vatican where he was received by Pope John Paul II. At a solemn ceremony in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

, the patriarchs of East and West together recited the

Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining creed, statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Counci ...

of the Church in Greek as originally defined in 381 AD, without the controversial ''

Filioque ( ; ), a Latin term meaning "and from the Son", was added to the original Nicene Creed, and has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. The term refers to the Son, Jesus Christ, with the Father, as th ...

'' clause. The Pope later recalled the event in his ecumenical

encyclical letter An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

Ut Unum Sint ''Ut unum sint'' (Latin: 'That they all may be one, That they may be one') is an encyclical on ecumenism by Pope John Paul II of 25 May 1995. It was one of 14 encyclicals he issued, and Cardinal Georges Cottier, Theologian of the Pontifical Hou ...

''. In an 8-city tour of the United States in 1990, Patriarch Demetrios I met with President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, with Christian and Jewish leaders, and with public officials, and spread the message that: "Today,

Orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

is not a strange or alien factor in America. It is flesh of its flesh and bone of its bone".

Notes and references

1914 births 1991 deaths 20th-century ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople Theological School of Halki alumni Constantinopolitan Greeks Clergy from Istanbul Turkish people of Greek descent Greek Freemasons People from Sarıyer {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub