Demetrios I of Constantinople

Demetrios I, also Dimitrios I or Demetrius I, born Demetrios Papadopoulos (Greek: Δημήτριος Αʹ, Δημήτριος Παπαδόπουλος; September 8, 1914 – October 2, 1991) was the 269th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from July 16, 1972, to October 2, 1991, serving as the spiritual leader of 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians.[1][2] Before his election as patriarch, he served as the metropolitan bishop of Imvros. He was born in Istanbul in modern-day Turkey, then known as Constantinopole, where he also died.[2]

Demetrios I
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
InstalledJuly 16, 1972
Term endedOctober 2, 1991
PredecessorAthenagoras I
SuccessorBartholomew I
Personal details
Born
Demetrios Papadopoulos

(1914-09-08)September 8, 1914
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey)
DiedOctober 2, 1991(1991-10-02) (aged 77)
Phanar, Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityOttoman and Turkish
DenominationEastern Orthodox Church

Role in ecumenism

On November 30, 1979, Demetrios proclaimed the establishment of the official theological dialogue between the 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.[3] At a solemn ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica, the patriarchs of East and West together recited the 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.[4]

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".[5][6]

References
  1. Barron, James (1991-10-03). "Dimitrios I, Eastern Orthodox Patriarch, 77, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  2. "Patriarch Dimitrios I Dies, Body To Lie In State". Associated Press. 3 October 1991. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  3. "Joint Declaration of Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Dimitrios I". www.christianunity.va. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  4. "Ut Unum Sint (25 May 1995) | John Paul II". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  5. Steinfels, Peter (1990-07-03). "PATRIARCH BEGINS 8-CITY TOUR OF U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
  6. 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


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