U.S. Assistant Secretary of State meets Patriarch Bartholomew at the Phanar
The meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew addressed Church life in Turkey and work with the Orthodox diaspora in the U.S.
Patriarch Bartholomew received Riley M. Barnes, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, at the Phanar in Istanbul. This was reported by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The meeting took place at the residence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
According to the host side, the participants discussed the life of the Orthodox Church in Constantinople, pastoral ministry to the faithful in Turkey, and the situation in the Archdiocese of America.
The U.S. delegation also included Deputy Consul General Michael Kidwell. On the Patriarchate’s side, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon and staff members of patriarchal structures took part in the meeting.
As the UOJ reported, Riley Barnes had earlier held a meeting in Kyiv: the State Department official discussed religious freedom in Ukraine with the Phanar exarch.
The UOJ also wrote that the head of the Phanar met with the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to Turkey.
