Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in Washington on Sunday evening as part of his official visit to the United States on the occasion of his receiving the Templeton Prize.
According to the White House announcement, President Trump will receive the Patriarch on Monday at 2 p.m.-Washington local time.
Despite the late hour, the Ecumenical Patriarch was welcomed at the hotel by a large number of believers, priests and students. Patriarch Bartholomew was accompanied by Archbishop Elpidoforos, Archbishop of America, His Eminence the Grand Ecclesiarch and Director of the Patriarchal Office, Father Aetios, and the Tertiary Patriarchal Deacon Barnabas.
During the reception, the Bishop of New Jersey Apostolos and the Bishop of Nazianzus, Mr. Athenagoras, were also present.
Contact circle in Washington
During his stay in the American capital, the Ecumenical Patriarch will hold a series of meetings, starting from the White House, where he will visit President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday.
He will then lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, accompanied by General Andrew Poppas. The remainder of the Washington, D.C. leg of the program includes a State Department banquet, a luncheon with House Speaker Mike Johnson, which will include lawmakers from both parties, and a reception at St. Catherine Parish in Virginia.
On Thursday, the Patriarch will travel to New York City, where he will visit St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero in Manhattan. There he will celebrate a praise service, meet with young Orthodox and participate in commemorative events for the 9/11 rescuers. In New York, he will also meet with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and speak at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
The visit takes place on the occasion of the Ecumenical Patriarch being awarded the Templeton Prize. The ceremony will take place on September 24 at Lincoln Center, in the presence of personalities such as Jane Goodall, Al Gore and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
As part of his presence in the United States, the Ecumenical Patriarch will visit the Greek Orthodox parish in the Hamptons, where he will participate in World Cleanup Day together with researchers from Stony Brook University and will be honored with the academic institution's highest medal. Finally, on Sunday, he will celebrate Mass with Hierarchs from across the United States.
