Patriarch Bartholomew met with families of missing Ukrainians

On July 8, 2025, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew held a meeting at the Phanar with the relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war and missing persons. The meeting began with the Patriarch greeting the delegation with the words “Glory to Ukraine!”. This was reported by Roman Nedyelskyi, the Consul General of Ukraine in Istanbul.

“We thank His All-Holiness for the blessing and prayers for our Heroes — may they return home to their loved ones alive and safe. These are not just stories — we know of real cases of true miracles, when after His All-Holiness’s blessing, our Heroes returned home or their families received news about them,” the consul wrote on his page.

Earlier we reported that Bishop Michael (Anishchenko) of the Phanar’s representation in Ukraine stated that unilateral decisions by individual bishops are unacceptable in Orthodoxy, as they violate the principle of conciliarity. He described such behavior as “authoritarianism.”