Behind Barbed Wire and Barriers

The Ecumenical Patriarchate is housed in a walled, barbed wire lined compound lying within a stone's throw of the Golden Horn in the city that is now called Istanbul. Just over the wall is a minaret, from which the Moslem call to prayer is broadcast regularly and loudly.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, in other times known as the Pope or Archbishop of Constantinople (or New Rome), was second in rank (among spiritual equals) only to the Pope of Rome. With the Great Schism, this Patriarch became the ranking Patriarch in the Orthodox World. Although he is, by necessity, cloistered behind a guarded wall, he is still the leader of the Orthodox World.

As I walked past the Turkish guardhouse, and past the door

(that remains locked) where the Patriarch Gregorius was hung by the Ottomans in 1821 I was reminded of something I heard the Patriarch of Jerusalem say a couple of months ago: "we are here to be a presence". It is probably not a coincidence that many of our Orthodox Patriarchs are a "presence" in a hostile environment. Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Istanbul (with Rome, the sites of the five ancient Patriarchates) are not exactly friendly territory. Three are contained within Islamic states and the fourth is the site of

constant turmoil between Israelis and Palestianians. All are dangerous, especially if one chooses to openly express any signs of Christian faith on the wrong street corner. Of course, this is not new. When Gregory of Nazianzus came to Constantinople in the fourth century to be the new Archbishop he was entering a hostile Arian environment from which he rescued the city with his Orthodox teaching and example.

We are told in the scriptures not to keep our light under a basket. I was recently reminded that the "light" in Jesus' day was not a fluorescent light. It was a candle or oil lamp that had to be constantly tended in order to give out light. Our "light" requires constant attention if it is going to do what it is intended to do. The tending in the Orthodox Church is accomplished through attending the services of the church, prayer, fasting, and looking out for the needs of those around us. These Patriarchs are all a great example to us of how to shine, even in a hostile environment. We would do well to emulate their behavior.