Η Ανατολή συνάντησε την Άπω Ανατολή: Αυτοσχεδιασμοί στο πιάνο π. Βησσαρίωνος και τυμπανιστή Pansori Νοτίου Κορέας [video]

On Friday, December 7th, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the faithful of St. Nicholas Parish in Seoul had a reception dinner together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the construction of St. Nicholas cathedral. Traditional Korean musicians performed and Father Vissarion, moved by their performances, decided to play improvisational piano with the traditional Korean drummer. Blending Greek music with a traditional Korean Pansori drummer, a wonderful momentous occasion occurred. The audience was surprised and awed by such a spontaneous musical miracle.

12월 7일 금요일, 세계총대주교님과 신자들이 함께 저녁식사 자리를 가졌습니다. 성 니콜라스 대성당 건립 50주년을 기념하여 방문해주신 바르톨로메오스 총대주교님께 감사드리는 의미로 한국 전통 축하공연이 이어졌습니다. 그 공연에 감동 받으신 총대주교청의 비싸리온 대신부님께서는 즉석에서 피아노로 비잔틴 음악을 연주하며 화답하셨습니다. 특히, 한국 공연단의 장구와의 합주를 통해 한국과 비잔틴 전통을 연결시키셨습니다. 갑작스러운 제안에도 연주는 아름다웠고 연주가 끝난 후, 그 자리에 있던 모든 신자들은 박수갈채를 멈추지 못하였습니다.

Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης ευχήθηκε την ένωση των δύο Κορεών [ρεπορτάζ CBS]

[CBS 뉴스] 바르톨로메오스 정교회 세계총대주교 “남북 통일 기원”

Λίγα λόγια του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου στην παρουσίαση της κορεατικής μετάφρασης του βιβλίου του "Συνάντηση με το Μυστήριο"

A WORD OF THANKS

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew at the book launch of the Korean translation of Encountering the Mystery

[7.12.2018]

Beloved friends,

Allow us to offer a brief word of thanks to all of you for this enriching and inspiring symposium as well as for this touching and sympathetic book launch.

The modest volume that we wrote is subtitled Understanding Orthodox Christianity Today. This is because we have not attempted to provide a systematic or exhaustive account of Orthodox teaching and tradition, but rather to concentrate on the themes that are closest to our heart and to our ministry. These include ecology and dialogue, freedom and religion, as well as peace and justice. All of these are matters very close to the heart and culture of the Korean people.

The Orthodox Christian faith is founded on spiritual experience, and not simply on philosophy or emotions. In our tradition, preaching and practice are two sides of one and the same coin. This unity of doctrine and life means that the reality of eternal truths lies in the experiential power. This is why, in all that we practice and proclaim in our ministry, we seek to create dialogue, to build bridges, to open doors. We are deeply convinced that this lies at the very core of Orthodox Christianity because the role of religion is to promote encounter, to encourage dialogue, to advance the dignity and freedom of all human beings.

It is helpful to remember that the Greek word for “person”  (πρόσωπον) implies relationship; it signifies “facing another person.” To be a human person, then, we must make room for other persons. This means we must care for the natural environment, if we truly care about human life on our planet. We must care for all Christian confessions and faith communities, if we want the witness of religion to be more convincing in our society. We must care for our neighbors, if we want peace to prevail in our world. After all, in God’s creation, there is room for all of us. Let us never forget that both prayer and politics involve relationships; they include caring for all people—especially the marginalized and vulnerable among us.

Permit us to close with a word of encouragement and hope. For, while we face critical and challenging questions in our time, we should nevertheless not despair. God has not and will never abandon His world. As we write in the very last sentence of the book you are launching today, our sincere hope and wholehearted prayer is that a new day will dawn in our societies and nations, one of reconciliation, justice and peace for the sake of our future generations.

Thank you, and may God bless all of you.

Επίσκεψη του Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχου στην Κορεατική Αποστρατιωτικοποιημένη Ζώνη (DMZ), 8.12.2018

바르톨로메오스 세계총대주교님께서는 강원도 철원군 DMZ 지역을 방문하셨습니다

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a weapons-free buffer zone between North and South Korea. The area was established on July 27, 1953 when the Armistice Agreement was signed during the Korean War, and includes the 2km-wide stretch of land both north and south of the line. The DMZ extends largely from Gyeonggi-do to Gangwon-do, including seven different cities and smaller counties of Paju, Yeoncheon, Cheorwon, Hwacheon, Yanggu, Inje and Goseong. The zone has been protected from human disturbance for about 6 decades and has unintentionally become a haven for wildlife, making it a popular destination for nature lovers.

On Saturday, December 8, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew visited the DMZ area of ​​Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, South Korea. He shared in the pain that the division of the peninsula has brought to the Korean people. Together with Koreans he held a memorial service for those fallen during the Korean war and prayed for peace and reunification. Specifically, he prayed for the reunion of those families that have not been able to meet each other because of the division. 
     HAH then visited the Borderline Peace School. He was greeted with much love and warm hospitality. There, representatives of the school explained the mission of the school and its striving for reunification. 
     We give thanks to God that HAH has made this historic meeting. Also, we thank all those who together made this trip possible. Through the prayers of HAH and all those before him, may reunification and peace come to the Korean peninsula. 

방한 일정 마지막 날인 12월 8일 토요일, 바르톨로메오스 세계총대주교님께서는 강원도 철원군 DMZ 지역을 방문하셨습니다. 노동당사와 월정역 등 분단과 전쟁의 상흔이 남아있는 곳을 직접 찾아 한반도 분단 상황의 아픔을 함께 나누셨고, 철원 평화전망대에서 6.25 전쟁으로 희생된 모든 이들을 위한 추도식을 드리며, 한반도에 평화가 하루 빨리 오기를 기원하셨습니다. 특히, 소식도 모른 채 서로 떨어져 사는 가족들이 짧은 상봉 만남을 갖는 게 아니라, 남은 생을 함께 살 수 있도록 이땅에 평화가 지속되기를 간구하셨습니다. 마지막으로, 따뜻한 환대를 받으며 방문한 ‘국경선평화학교’에서, 평화와 생태 보전을 위해 이 학교가 추진하는 활동들을 설명 들으며, 서로의 노력을 지지하고 더 나은 미래를 함께 그려보았습니다. 이로써, 모든 일정을 무사히 마치신 총대주교님과 수행단은, 서울 성당과 인천 성당 신자분들의 아쉬운 인사 속에 출국하셨습니다. 총대주교님과의 이 역사적인 만남을 성공적이고 아름답게 마치게 해주신 하느님께 영광을 돌리며, 먼곳까지 와주신 총대주교님과 수행단께 깊은 감사를 드립니다. 또 우리 모두에게 깊은 감동을 남겼던 이 만남을 준비하는데 도움을 주신 모든 여러분께 감사드립니다. 사진 보기: 

Στιγμές από την Πατριαρχική Λειτουργία για τον Άγιο Νικόλαο στη Σεούλ της Κορέας (6.12.2018)

His All Holiness Bartholomew Patriarch of Constantinople and New Rome celebrated Divine Liturgy on the 6th of December, 2018, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Seoul.

Στιγμές από τον Πατριαρχικό Εσπερινό για τον Άγιο Νικόλαο στη Σεούλ της Κορέας (5.12.2018)

His All Holiness Bartholomew Patriarch of Constantinople and New Rome celebrated Great Vespers on the 5th of December, 2018, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Seoul.