Constantinople Patriarchate holds ecumenical prayer in Istanbul

On January 17, 2026, in Istanbul, at the Cathedral of the Entrance of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Stavrodromi community, an annual ecumenical prayer for Christian unity took place, organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Representatives of various Christian confessions and local communities of the city participated in the service, the Greek outlet Fos fanariou reports.

The theme of the annual prayer in 2026 was the words of the Apostle Paul from the Epistle to the Ephesians: “one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope of your calling.” The service was led by Archimandrite Iakov of the Great Church of Christ. Also taking part in the prayer were Metropolitan Gregory of Ankara, the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul Massimiliano Palinuro, and Bishop Veniamin of Tralles.

During the service, representatives of different Christian churches in Constantinople read passages from Holy Scripture and offered prayers. Among the participants were representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syriac and Coptic Orthodox Churches, as well as the German Evangelical Church.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the Pope had called for “full visible unity of all Christians.”