Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew led a service for the Ukrainian community in Istanbul

On Monday, August 24, 2026, Patriarch Bartholomew visited the Church of St. Nicholas in the Jivali district of Istanbul, where he presided over the Divine Liturgy for the local Ukrainian community. The solemn service was held to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, according to fosfanariou.gr.

At the conclusion of the service, Patriarch Bartholomew performed a memorial service for those who died during the military conflict in Ukraine and addressed the congregation with a sermon. The event was attended by Metropolitan Joachim of Prussia, Bishop Adrian of Halicarnassus, representatives of the Ukrainian diplomatic corps, and numerous believers.

As a reminder, we previously reported that Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople had been making active efforts to recognize Ukrainian schismatic groups and weaken the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church as early as 2008, ten years before the official granting of the Tomos.