Archbishop Elpidophoros: Patriarch Bartholomew Is a “Living Icon” Against the Backdrop of the Loss of Hagia Sophia

Archbishop Elpidophoros of the American Archdiocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in his recent message on the Feast of Saint Sophia, stated that the faithful should seek solace in the figure of Patriarch Bartholomew, whom he called a “living icon” of the Great Church. The Phanar hierarch emphasized that, despite the loss of access to the Hagia Sophia building, the spiritual presence of Constantinople is preserved in the person of its primate.

In a message timed to coincide with July 24—the date six years ago when the status of Hagia Sophia was officially changed—Archbishop Elpidophoros noted that the building no longer serves as a place of worship of the Holy Trinity. Nevertheless, he urged the faithful not to give in to despair but to place their hope in the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which he described as a “Sacred Beacon” for the Christian world.

It is important to note the evolution of the Church of Constantinople’s rhetoric on this issue. While immediately following the Turkish authorities’ 2020 decision to convert the church into a mosque, the American Archdiocese called for a “Day of Mourning” and demanded the restoration of its museum status, the emphasis has now shifted noticeably. In the current message, the emphasis is not on demands directed at Ankara, but on the glorification of Patriarch Bartholomew himself, whose ministry Elpidophoros described as the longest and most significant in the modern history of the Church.