Demetrios I also Dimitrios I or Demetrius I, born Demetrios Papadopoulos ( el, Δημήτριος Αʹ, Δημήτριος Παπαδόπουλος; September 8, 1914 – October 2, 1991) was the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
from July 16, 1973, to October 2, 1991. He was the 269th successor to
St. Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
(the apostle to whom
the See of Constantinople traces its roots), and was the spiritual leader of more than 5 million Eastern Orthodox Christians. Before his election as patriarch he served as the
metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
Originally, the term referred to the b ...
of
Imvros
Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...
. He was born and died in
Constantinopole
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, in modern day Turkey.
Role in ecumenism
On November 30, 1979, Demetrios proclaimed the establishment of the official theological dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church, at that time led by Pope John Paul II. He also met with two archbishops of Canterbury representing the Anglican Communion.
In 1987, Demetrios travelled to the Vatican where he was received by John Paul II. At a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, the patriarchs of East and West together recited the Nicene Creed, Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of the Church in Greek as originally defined in AD 381, without the controversial ''Filioque'' clause. The Pope later recalled the event in his ecumenical encyclical letter ''Ut Unum Sint''.
In an 8-city tour of the United States in 1990, Patriarch Demetrios met with President George H. W. Bush, with Christian and Jewish leaders, and with public officials, and spread the message that: "Today, Orthodoxy is not a strange or alien factor in America. It is flesh of its flesh and bone of its bone".
[Image of Patriarch Demetrios I with US President George H.W. Bush , 1990-07-08 , https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/file-photo-dated-july-8-1990-shows-former-us-president-news-photo/1067065308]
References
1914 births
1991 deaths
20th-century Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople
Theological School of Halki alumni
Constantinopolitan Greeks
Clergy from Istanbul
People from Sarıyer
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