The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in Washington on Sunday evening as part of his official visit to the United States, coinciding with his award of the Templeton Prize.

According to the White House announcement, President Trump will welcome the Patriarch on Monday at 2:00 PM local Washington time (9:00 PM Greece time).

Despite the late hour, a large number of faithful, priests, and students welcomed the Ecumenical Patriarch at the hotel. Patriarch Bartholomew was accompanied by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the Very Reverend Great Ecclesiarch and Director of the Patriarchal Office, Father Aetios, and the tertiary patriarchal deacon Barnabas.

Present at the reception were also Metropolitan Apostolos of New Jersey and Bishop Athinagoras of Nazianzus.

Series of Meetings in Washington

During his stay in the U.S. capital, the Ecumenical Patriarch will hold a series of meetings, beginning at the White House, where he will visit President Donald Trump in the Oval Office today.

Next, he will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, accompanied by General Andrew Poppas. The remainder of his program in Washington includes an official dinner at the State Department, a luncheon with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, which will be attended by legislators from both parties, and a reception at St. Catherine’s Parish in Virginia.

On Thursday, the Patriarch will travel to New York, where he will visit the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church at Ground Zero in Manhattan. There, he will preside over a thanksgiving service, meet young Orthodox Christians, and participate in memorial events for the first responders of September 11. In New York, he will also meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and speak at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

The visit coincides with the award of the Templeton Prize to the Ecumenical Patriarch. The ceremony will take place on September 24 at Lincoln Center, with notable attendees such as Jane Goodall, Al Gore, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

As part of his U.S. visit, the Ecumenical Patriarch will also visit the Greek Orthodox parish in the Hamptons, participate in World Cleanup Day alongside researchers from Stony Brook University, and be honored with the institution’s highest medal. Finally, on Sunday, he will celebrate the Divine Liturgy with hierarchs from across America.