[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COMMEMORATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ELEVATION OF ECUMENICAL 
                         PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DARIN LaHOOD

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 2021

  Mr. LaHOOD. Madam Speaker, I would like to honor and recognize 
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople on the historic 30th 
Anniversary of his election on October 22, 1991, and his elevation on 
November 2, 1991, as the 270th Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, 
and Ecumenical Patriarch.
  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was born in the village of Zeytinli 
on the island of Imbros to Christos and Merope Archontonis. Ecumenical 
Patriarch Bartholomew belongs to the historically indigenous Rum 
people, descendants of the Eastern Roman Empire/Byzantine Empire Greek 
community in Turkey.
  Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is recognized in the United States 
and abroad as a leader in the quest for world peace, greater religious 
understanding, and respect for the Earth's environment. Ecumenical 
Patriarch Bartholomew is the spiritual leader of nearly 300,000,000 
Orthodox Christians around the world and millions of Orthodox 
Christians in the United States, with a significant population here in 
Illinois and the City of Chicago.
  On his first official visit to the United States in 1997, Ecumenical 
Patriarch Bartholomew received the Congressional Gold Medal, presented 
by the United States on behalf of Congress in recognition of his 
outstanding and enduring contributions to religious understanding and 
peace. His Holiness was recognized by the United States in a manner 
reserved for a very small number of world leaders.
  I am grateful for all the good that His All Holiness does for 
Americans and those around the world. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew 
serves as a reminder to us all that the positive efforts of just one 
person can be beneficial to countless lives of others.

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