On Wednesday 19 August 2026, at the Cultural Centre of Saints Theodore on Imbros, in the presence of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, a series of celebratory events were held by the Mount Athos Center in Thessaloniki in collaboration with the Holy Metropolis of Imbros and Tenedos in order to mark the Patriarch’s 35 years of service as Ecumenical Patriarch and the 65th anniversary of his ordination as deacon.
‘Apart from my institutional role, due to the fact that every Ecumenical Patriarch is also Bishop of Mount Athos, I also have an emotional tie with Mount Athos springing from my love of monasticism and, even more so, from the fact that, when I was ordained 65 years ago, I took my name from Bartholomew of Koutloumousiou Monastery, who always proudly signed himself as “The Imbriot”. And a proof of my love for Mount Athos is the fact that I have visited it eight times.’

It was with these words that the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew began his closing speech. He also expressed warm thanks to the Mount Athos Center, in the person of its director Mr. Anastasios Douros, for once more supporting the Greek community on Imbros with its presence at the Theotokeia festival. He also expressed special thanks to Mr. Kriton Chryssochoidis for ‘deigning to come and give a talk on our island, Imbros’, despite his busy schedule, involving participating in numerous international conferences and speaking at a variety of scientific institutions.

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In his opening address, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Imbros and Tenedos Kyrillos welcomed the public and mentioned the special relationship that has developed in recent years with the Mount Athos Center, ‘which every year presents its wonderful events on the island’. His Eminence also expressed warm thanks to Mr. Chryssochoidis for travelling from Athens in order to give a lecture on Imbros.
This was followed by an address by the Director of the Mount Athos Center, Mr. Anastasios Douros, who began by conveying the greetings of the Mayor of Thessaloniki and President
of the Mount Athos Center, Mr. Stelios Angeloudis, and also of the other members of the Board – the representatives of the Holy Community and other lay members. Referring to the Mount Athos Center’s now regular annual presence on Imbros, Mr. Douros said: ‘Your All-Holiness, once again this year we are present in your native land, and through the events we have planned, we seek to convey – albeit in this small way – the spirit of Mount Athos, and also to support you in your noble efforts to bring about a revival on this martyred island’. Mr. Douros went on to present details of the eight visits made to Mount Athos by the Ecumenical Patriarch, stressing the fact that ‘the exhibition is not merely an historical account but also provides a penetrating insight into the ardent paternal concern shown by the Head of the Orthodox Church for the monks, those authentic and beloved children of the Holy Mountain of Athos’.
Immediately afterwards, the Emeritus Director of Research at the National Research Foundation, Mr. Kriton Chryssochoidis, gave a lecture on the topic ‘The Patriarch St. Jeremias I and the spiritual revival of the 16th century (Mount Athos – Middle East – Balkans).

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Mr. Chryssochoidis spoke about the long reign of St. Jeremias I as Patriarch of Constantinople from 1522 to 1546 and focused on the substantive restoration of relations and communication between the patriarchates of the Orthodox East and the Great Church, as well as the reorganisation of monastic life through the foundation and refoundation of important monasteries by great ecclesiastical figures.
This period, as the speaker’s well-documented presentation showed, can be regarded as a period of monastic, hagiological and, more generally, spiritual revival in the southern Balkans. A decisive role in this spiritual revival was played by Patriarch Jeremias I, while Mount Athos also played an important role as a centre of spiritual life and monastic tradition that was responsible for diffusing Orthodox spirituality.
In concluding, Mr. Chryssochoidis made special mention of the similarities between the patriarchate of Jeremias I and the 35-year reign of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: while Jeremias’ reign was the longest unbroken patriarchate of the Ottoman period, Bartholomew’s reign is already the longest in the modern history of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. A common characteristic shared by both patriarchs is their extensive pastoral work and the concern they have shown for the unity of the Orthodox Church. At the same time, Mr. Chryssochoidis also emphasised the special relationship both patriarchs have enjoyed with Mount Athos, as well as the role they have played in promoting monastic life and Orthodox hagiology.
Finally, mention of particularly symbolic significance was made to the personal connection between His All-Holiness Bartholomew and Patriarch Jeremias I, who – by virtue of a decree issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 13 January 2023 – was declared a saint of the Orthodox Church, thereby highlighting, over the course of five centuries, the unbroken continuity of the spiritual and pastoral mission of the Patriarchate.
The photographic material for the exhibition has been drawn from the archives of the photographers Pavlos Anagnostopoulos, Costas Argyris, Raphael Georgiadis (†), Nikos Manginas, the monk Theodosios Simonopetritis and Costas Tzivanidis.

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The events were attended by many local people, clergy members from the Holy Metropolis of Imbros and Tenedos, and the Director of the Museum of Byzantine Culture, Mrs. Flora Karagianni.
The events on Imbros constituted a unique coming-together of history, memory, culture and spirituality that highlighted the strong, age-old bonds between the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Imbros and Mount Athos.

Photo: © Nikos Papachristou