Contact: World Council of Churches, +41-79-507-6363; www.oikoumene.org/press
 
GENEVA, April, 13, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- The World Council of Churches (WCC) will welcome His Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, on Monday, 24 April.

He will speak about issues concerning the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, the ecumenical movement, the protection of the environment and the protection of children. Interpretation in French will be available, and the lecture will be followed by a reception.

His All-Holiness Bartholomew will be in WCC during His official visit to Switzerland on the occasion of His 25th anniversary of enthronement as Ecumenical Patriarch, the 50 years of the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Chambésy and the 20th anniversary of the opening of its Institute of Postgraduate Studies, on 22-24 April.

When: 24 April, 2017, 12:00, followed by a reception

Where: Ecumenical Centre, Visser 't Hooft Hall, 150 route de Ferney, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland

About the visit: His All-Holiness Bartholomew's visit includes two days of anniversary events in the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a public lecture in the University of Fribourg and a pilgrimage visit to the Taizé Community.

Programme of the festivities in the Orthodox Centre of Chambesy

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Taizé

Media contacts:
Please contact WCC director of communication Marianne Ejdersten: mej@wcc-coe.org, +41 79 507 63 63

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.