Welcoming His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great honor to welcome to our Nation's Capital His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch. He is the Spiritual Head of the Orthodox Christian Church worldwide and shepherd to over 300 million faithful. For Orthodox Christians across the globe, including many of my own constituents in Northwest Ohio, His All-Holiness is not only their spiritual father but also a guiding light for interfaith understanding, religious freedom, and environmental stewardship.

Part of his visit to the United States is to receive the distinguished Templeton Prize in New York City. This recognition, bestowed previously on figures such as Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, acknowledges his lifetime of service in advancing the harmony of faith and reason, and his courageous leadership on behalf of peace and the protection of God's creation.

His All-Holiness is no stranger to the halls of Congress. On his first visit to our Nation's Capital in 1997, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in the Rotunda, where he delivered an address that remains a touchstone in the history of religious freedom and international dialogue. Through subsequent visits under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the Ecumenical Patriarch has been received with the highest honors by our Nation's leaders.

For more than three decades as Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness has been a bridge-builder between peoples and nations. He has convened leaders of the Abrahamic faiths in pursuit of peace and reconciliation. He has boldly raised the conscience of the world to the urgent moral imperative of environmental responsibility. For these efforts, he is rightly known as the ``Green Patriarch.'' He has also been a steadfast advocate for human rights and religious liberty across the globe, strengthening the cause of freedom for all people.

On behalf of the people of Northwest Ohio, and especially our vibrant Greek Orthodox community, I am proud to extend our heartfelt welcome to His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as he returns to Washington. We rejoice in his recognition with the Templeton Prize, and we pray that his ministry of peace, love, and reconciliation will continue to inspire our Nation and our world.

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