Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Hosted at United States Department of State

Continuing his Apostolic Visit to the U.S. in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening, September 16, 2025, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew attended a dinner hosted in his honor by Michael J. Rigas, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, in the Benjamin Franklin Reception Hall at the United States Department of State.

In an extended introduction from Deputy Secretary Rigas, who praised the Patriarch as both a spiritual leader and a partner in advancing religious freedom. Rigas framed religious liberty as a defining American principle, stretching back to the Pilgrims’ arrival in 1620 and enshrined in the First Amendment. Quoting Jefferson’s Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he called it “our first liberty.”

To honor His All-Holiness’s visit, Rigas recounted two stories from Orthodox history. The first was the conversion of Prince Vladimir of Kievan Rus in 988 after emissaries reported the transcendent beauty of Constantinople’s Hagia Sophia. The second highlighted Philip Ludwell III, a colonial Virginian and friend of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, who in 1738 became the first American convert to Orthodoxy and quietly translated church texts into English.

Rigas then turned to contemporary challenges, noting religious communities facing persecution, displacement, and restrictions on worship across the globe. “Religious liberty is not a privilege, but a universal right,” he said, pledging that the U.S. would remain “steadfast” in confronting threats through diplomacy and international partnerships.

His All-Holiness in his remarks issued a pointed warning about the dangers of nationalism in religion, urging instead a renewed global commitment to dialogue, coexistence, and the dignity of every human being:

“As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to pursue the kingdom of God, not any kingdom of man, no matter how inviting,” the Ecumenical Patriarch told an audience of ambassadors, diplomats, hierarchs, clergy, and U.S. officials.

He tied this warning to the very setting of his remarks, the State Department, saying that diplomacy requires the capacity “to place oneself in another’s condition, to be empathetic and not only sympathetic.” True religion, he argued, should do no less. “As Orthodox Christians with a continuous history and memory … we understand the complexity of the relationship between the city of God and the city of man.”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized that the task of religious leaders today is to open space for mutual respect, interfaith dialogue, and reconciliation. “The significant contribution of the great religious traditions should be to create fields of mutual respect and understanding,” he said. “All the religions of the world teach the value of every human person. We have been confronted by the need to practice acceptance over rejection.”

Marking the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea, His All-Holiness recalled the Creed’s affirmation that Christ is “of the same essence” with the Father, adding that this truth applies to all humanity, whose dignity is equally shared.

His All-Holiness closed by speaking directly to Deputy Secretary of State Rigas, who hosted the event. Noting Rigas’s Greek Orthodox upbringing, His All-Holiness underscored their shared heritage. “You share our awareness that the human family is bound together in a deeper relationship than we might have imagined,” he said. “And in this spirit, we have the key to unlock a happy and fulfilling life for every human being.”

He ended with a blessing: “May God bless you richly, and may God bless America.”

Also attending the U.S. Department of State dinner were Archbishop Elpidophoros and other members of the Patriarchal party; U.S. Metropolitans and guest hierarchs among whom was His Grace Bishop Irinej of Washington-New York and Eastern America of the Serbian Orthodox Church; Kimberly Guilfoyle, nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Greece; Ambassador of Greece to the U.S. Ekaterini Nassika; Ambassador of Serbia to the U.S. Dragan Šutanovac; Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis, Grand Aktouarios and National Commander of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; community leaders and faithful from the U.S. and abroad.

Source: goarch.org
Photos by Orthodox Observer/Brittainy Newman