Directions to Orthodoxy - Ecumenical Patriarch of the Worldwide Orthodox Christian Church Meets with American Bible Society Leaders

From left to right, Rev. Dr. Paul Irwin, President, American Bible Society, His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians, and Rev. Dr. Richard Jeske, Director, Ecumenical & Interfait This post has been viewed 833 times.

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Ecumenical Patriarch of the Worldwide Orthodox Christian Church Meets with American Bible Society Leaders
Posted on Wed Jul 18 2007

News Release
American Bible Society I 1865 Broadway
New York, NY 10023

Contact:
Roy Lloyd (212) 408-8731
rlloyd@americanbible.org

Nancy Hite (212) 741-5106, ext. 211
abs@rlmpr.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York — July 17, 2007, The American Bible Society has been steadily building a strong relationship over the past several years with both the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States and in Greece and the Greek Bible Society. A recent visit to emphasize this fruitful partnership was made to Istanbul (formerly Constantinople), Turkey, by the President of the American Bible Society, Rev. Dr. Paul Irwin, to His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is recognized by the other Orthodox hierarchs as primus inter pares—"first among equals"—and serves as the spiritual leader and representative worldwide voice of some 300 million Orthodox Christians throughout the world.

An outcome of the cooperative relationship has been the successful publication of The Children's Bible Reader in both English and Greek, first introduced at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America's Clergy-Laity Convention in Nashville Tennessee last summer.

After the visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate Dr. Irwin commented: "It was both a blessing and an honor to be able to meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and bring greetings from the American Bible Society and the United Bible Societies (UBS) fellowship." Thomas Durakis, Director for Publishing Services at the Bible Society, added: "It was very special that we were also able to attend the name day services for His All Holiness in the Patriarchal Church of Saint George."

The visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate was arranged by His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas, a Hierarch of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America whose jurisdiction is the Metropolis of Detroit. "This visit was an opportunity for His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to see first-hand the manifold fruits that this partnership has borne", said Metropolitan Nicholas. "We look forward to fostering this collaborative partnership with the American Bible Society." Metropolitan Nicholas is a member of the American Bible Society Board of Trustees. Those in the Bible Society delegation accompanying Metropolitan Nicholas were: Father William J. Bartz, a Captain in the United States Navy and Senior Orthodox Military Chaplain in the armed services, Thomas Durakis, and Rev. Dr. Richard Jeske, Bible Society Director for Ecumenical Relations.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is the historic center of the Orthodox Christian Church .It is an institution spanning seventeen centuries whose history encompasses the first Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325 A.D. where the Nicene Creed was composed and confessed, the canon of the New Testament was approved and the constitutional framework of the Undivided Christian Church was established.

The Bible Society delegation also visited the Greek Bible Society in Athens, Greece. The American Bible Society has been working on various projects with Michail Chatzigiannis, the General Secretary of the Greek Bible Society. During the visit, the American group met with a team of New and Old Testament Professors who are working on the Orthodox Study Bible project which, when completed, will be a valuable resource for Orthodox faithful around the world.

Dr. Richard Jeske said: "After meeting these professors I was impressed with the high level of Biblical scholarship within this group. One is a member of the United Bible Societies Committee on Scholarly Editions and another is a member of the UBS Global Board."

At the end of the visit Dr. Irwin said: "The American Bible Society will continue working with both The Greek Orthodox Church and The Greek Bible Society to share God's Word around the world."

Founded in 1816 and headquartered in New York City, the mission of the American Bible Society is to make the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so that all people may experience its life-changing message. The American Bible Society Web site is www.americanbible.org

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