The new ecclesiastical year (Indiction) for Orthodoxy, which begins on Monday, finds the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople feverishly preparing for two major milestones over the coming period, namely, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s visit to the United States in mid-September and a meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, as well as an upcoming visit by Pope Leo XIV in November.

Bartholemew, the primus inter pares of the world’s Orthodox patriarchs, will visit the United States between Sept. 15-24. Conversely, the primate of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo, is set to visit the Phanar district-based Patriarchate in Istanbul in November.

The visit by the Pontiff is considered as highly important from a religious point of view, as Leo XIV will arrive at the Phanar See after the commemoration of the 1,700-year-old anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (modern-day Iznik). Leo will also attend a con-celebratory Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George on the feast day of St. Andrew, on Nov. 30.

Only seven Catholic popes have visited the Bosporus metropolis, the 1,000-year capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) since the Apostle Peter founded the Church of Rome in 42 AD.

Meeting with Trump

At the same time, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and his staff are preparing the 10-day itinerary of Bartholomew’s tour of the United States.

The highlight of His All-Holiness Bartholomew’s visit to America is a meeting with President Trump at the White House on Sept. 16. Bartholomew’s interfaith initiatives, the US president’s initiatives for peace in Ukraine, and, above all, the protection of Christians and Christian pilgrimages in the Middle East are expected to be among the topics discussed.

During his 34 years as Ecumenical Patriarch, the 85-year-old Bartholomew has met with all US presidents in office during that period.