Visiting the United States, Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople was operated on Wednesday, November 3, in a New York hospital. Admitted in the afternoon for blood vessel tests, the 81-year-old Orthodox Church leader received a stent – a device that restores blood flow from blocked arteries to the heart. Although the operation is common and not serious, it nevertheless represents the second visit to the Patriarch’s hospital in less than two weeks.
→ CONTEXT. Patriarch Bartholomew inaugurates Orthodox church destroyed by 9/11 attacks
He had indeed spent a night in the hospital, on October 24, when he arrived on American soil, as a precaution, after a long flight from Istanbul. The day before his operation, he inaugurated the Saint-Nicolas church, restored after having been completely destroyed in 2001, in the attacks of September 11.
A trip to COP26 envisaged
He was also received by Joe Biden at the White House on Monday, October 25, a visit during which the two men notably ” discussed efforts to deal with climate changee ”, when the COP26 opened, four days ago. The patriarch had planned to go there, alongside Pope Francis, with whom he maintains ties of friendship.
The latter had also cited his Orthodox counterpart as a source of inspiration for the writing of the encyclical on ecology, Laudato si ‘: ” My brother Bartholomew, Orthodox Patriarch (…), very vigorously promoted the safeguarding of creation “. Neither ultimately made the trip to Glasgow, but both urged political leaders in early October to “ urgent, radical and responsible action », In a forum signed with many religious representatives.
Patriarch Bartholomeos had not visited the United States since 2009. This country has more than half a million Orthodox among the estimated 250 million in the world.
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