"This is the way it is historically": Patriarch Bartholomew reiterated the indisputability of Constantinople's primacy

Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has issued a rebuttal to the accusations directed against the Church of Constantinople, calling them «deception and a deliberate distortion of the truth.» In his address, he emphasized the historical conditionality of Constantinople’s primacy and warned against attempts to destroy sacred traditions.

The statement was made on December 25, 2025, during an address to Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel and a delegation of the Bulgarian Church, where unity in Orthodoxy was discussed. Patriarch Bartholomew noted that «recently some have been trying to create schisms, presenting the Great Church as acting autocratically and transgressing the establishments.»

The head of the Church of Constantinople strongly rejected these accusations, emphasizing that the primacy of Constantinople has been formed over the centuries. According to him, «the unchanging and reverent keeping of the fatherly covenants cannot be criticized,» indicating the steadfastness of traditional foundations.

At the end of his speech, Patriarch Bartholomew expressed regret that the issue of the primacy of the Primate of Constantinople «among the Orthodox has recently turned into a stumbling block, because logic and selfish aspirations of some prevail, and they make attempts to overthrow the Tradition».

Recall that on December 26, 2025, the feast of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the new style, in the Church of St. George on Phanar held a joint service of Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel. During the service, Patriarch Bartholomew commemorated the head of the PCU, Epiphanius Dumenko.