Upcoming Meeting at the Phanar: Can Patriarch Bartholomew Regain Influence Over Jerusalem and Antioch?

The upcoming meeting in Constantinople, scheduled for November 30, 2026, will be a serious test of the unity of global Orthodoxy. Patriarch Bartholomew, head of the Phanar, has invited the heads of the ancient patriarchates—Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem—to a fraternal gathering on the feast day of St. Andrew the First-Called. According to the website, this event is viewed as a critically important diplomatic and ecclesiastical test amid existing disagreements.

Currently, relations between the Orthodox Churches are strained due to the Ukrainian church issue and complex geopolitical processes. Observers are paying particular attention to the interaction between the Churches of Antioch and Jerusalem and the Moscow Patriarchate. Specifically, on November 5, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem visited Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill and received a Russian state award. For his part, Patriarch John of Antioch received a Russian church delegation in Lebanon in late October as part of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Russian Church’s presence in the region.

Experts note that ties with Moscow do not necessarily imply political dependence, but they emphasize the difficulty of maintaining a balance in inter-Orthodox dialogue. The primates’ participation in the meeting with the Patriarch of Constantinople will not imply automatic agreement with all of Istanbul’s positions, but it will provide a unique platform for direct communication and the articulation of their own views. The outcome of this meeting will be a key indicator of the global Orthodox Church’s readiness for institutional dialogue and for overcoming current challenges.

As a reminder, we previously reported that the Phanar accused the Patriarchate of Jerusalem of attempting to interfere in the Ukrainian church crisis.