Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack at the Phanar (Fanar), accompanied by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, at a moment when the long-dormant issue of reopening the Halki Theological School is resurfacing with new force on the international stage after 54 years of closure.
According to sources present, the Halki Seminary dominated the agenda of the scheduled meeting, which also included Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh, Metropolitan Constantine of Denver, and Bishops Athenagoras of Nazianzos and Nektarios of Diokleia.
Discussions focused on ongoing initiatives aimed at reopening the seminary, with a tentative horizon set for Sept. 2026. The American side, participants noted, views the effort as part of a broader commitment to “strengthening religious freedom while recognizing the Ecumenical Patriarchate as an institutional interlocutor.”
Ambassador Barrack reaffirmed President Donald Trump’s commitment to the issue, echoing assurances given during Bartholomew’s recent visit to the White House. He underscored that President Trump has requested regular updates on developments—an effort shaped in part by the need to maintain “the balance required within the legal framework set by the Turkish authorities.”
Patriarch Bartholomew stressed the pivotal significance of the seminary’s reopening, describing Halki as a spiritual center of global reach whose revival would carry profound symbolic and practical weight for the Orthodox world.
Archbishop Elpidophoros—who served for many years as abbot of the Holy Trinity Monastery on Halki and played a central role in international advocacy for the seminary—highlighted the continued engagement of the Greek-American community in the United States.
Meanwhile, renovation of the seminary’s main building is progressing rapidly thanks to a major donation from benefactor Athanasios Martinos. The restoration is expected to be completed around Easter, adding momentum to the broader diplomatic and ecclesiastical push surrounding Halki’s future.
