ΑΠΌ ΤΟ ΦΩΣ ΦΑΝΑΡΙΟΥ
H.A.H. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Remarks at the Alexandrion Foundation Dinner in His Honor [Bucharest, Romania, October 26, 2025]
Your Eminence Metropolitan Nifon of Târgoviște, honorable representative of His Beatitude Daniel, Archbishop of Bucharest, Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrogea, Locum Tenens of the Throne of Caesarea Cappadociae, and Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Romania,
Your Excellency Mr Mircea Abrudean, President of the Senate of Romania,
Most Reverend Hierarchs and Reverend Clergy,
Esteemed Antonio Salameh, Chairman of Alexandrion Group, and Members of the Alexandrion Foundation, and
Dear Rim Walid Daoud,
Your Excellency, Archbishop Giampiero Gloder, Apostolic Nuncio to Romania and Moldova, and beloved Hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church in Romania,
Honorable Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Esteemed Representatives of Academia,
Respected Members of the Media,
Madam Teodora Tompea, our most welcome Host,
Beloved Brethren and Children in the Lord,
We have deigned to employ the full title of our dear brother, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel, as a sign of our utmost respect for his person and for his High Office, as well as our affection and honor for the Orthodox Church of Romania.
The special connection to Asia Minor in his title reflects the historical continuity of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Romania. Especially with the Anniversaries of the Autocephaly and Patriarchal Elevation, these bonds are important to remember.
Thus, it was with great joy that today’s Divine Service in the People’s Salvation Cathedral, and the consecration of its mosaics as a truthful and righteous symbol of the deep faith of the noble Romanian People was celebrated before the eyes of the Nation. The panoply of glory and the majesty of the Service was unparalleled, and we congratulate His Beatitude and all those whose sacrifices and energy made such a magnificent ceremony possible.
Tonight, we are once again honored to be with our beloved friends of the Alexandrion Group and Foundation, even as we continue to mourn the untimely passing of its founder Dr. Nawaf Mtanios Salameh, Archon Referendarios of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Laureate of the Archon Sophia Award for Excellence.
We take this moment to recognize with deep respect and affection his beloved spouse, Rim Walid Daoud, and her children, Antonio – now Chairman – Roberto, and Michael, and all the dear Members of the Salameh Family.
Our only comfort in this bereavement was that his falling asleep in the Lord occurred on the very day of the Holy Pascha, when the gates of the Heavenly Spheres were wide open to receive his blesséd soul. We shall never forget this towering figure of piety and industry, for Nawaf was truly a “man for all seasons.” When we decided to make him an Archon of the Great Church of Christ, we chose for him the title of Ῥεφερενδάριος, because he was a man of consummate discretion, circumspection, and foresight. He gave his own confession of faith in the Great Church of Christ with these words, and I quote:
“As Archon, I will dedicate myself to the mission of the Order in the name of the Mother Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
We know that his zeal and his fidelity live on in his beloved family, and in the Alexandrion Group and Foundation, and we bless his life and accomplishments.
May his memory be eternal. Αἰωνία ἡ μνήμη αὐτοῦ!
Our presence in this wondrous land is occasioned by the most important anniversaries of the Autocephaly and Patriarchal elevation of the Orthodox Church of Romania – one hundred and forty years and one hundred years ago respectively. And yet, in the history of such a storied land, this is but the blink of an eye.
Therefore, it was with great joy that we accepted the Abrahamic invitation of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel to join him for the consecration of the mosaics of the People’s Salvation Cathedral, which – as we mentioned earlier – was so magnificently enacted earlier today.
The Cathedral is, as His Beatitude has said:
“… the Chalice, whose cup contains the Cathedral itself, where the Holy Mysteries are performed. The base of the Chalice represents the infinite love of the Holy Trinity, encompassing creation and calling the faithful to humility, repentance, and eternal communion with God.”
Such an exalted vision is deeply resonant with the Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards that we are celebrating this evening, for this Prince of Wallachia – a Saint and Martyr for the Holy Orthodox Faith of Christ – is reflected throughout all aspects of the Romanian People. He said at his martyrdom, encouraging his sons to face their fate in the tradition of Solomone and the Holy Maccabee children:
“Behold, all my fortunes and all I had, I have lost! Let us not lose our souls.”
But in giving his all for Christ, he enshrined in the Romanian soul their every fortunate virtue, gift, quality, distinction, value and grace. And the Alexandrion Foundation honors them all with this award of cultural, spiritual, and aesthetic excellence.
We ourselves have been privileged to have tasted of the fruits of the Alexandrion Foundation’s harvests of preeminence, as we were granted to receive the Special Award for Excellence in Promoting Peace and Dialogue, at the 2024 Constantin Brâncoveanu Awards Gala.
We have returned to Romania on a pilgrimage of prayer to persevere in our continuous mission of promoting peace, interfaith dialogue, and exploring the universal spirit shared by every human being, and which aspires to God.
As the Ecumenical Patriarchate – a trans-national purely spiritual institution whose force comes from the power of love rather than the love of power – we are committed to peaceful resolutions to the conflicts that afflict our world based in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, rather than to solutions that look only to secular political means.
We grieve over the continuing fratricidal war against Ukraine by the Russian Federation. And from the first moment we have called for its immediate cessation. We must stand against using our Holy Faith for purely political gains.
Moreover, as we consider the Middle East and the recent tragedy in Gaza, while we praise the peacemaking efforts of the US President Donald J. Trump, we must all intensify our efforts to build bridges rather than destroy homes. The fate of Christianity in the land that gave birth to our Savior hangs in the balance. And the future of our brethren in Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the rest of the countries where we have existed since the days of the Apostles compels us to bear witness truthfully, even when speaking truth to power is an uneasy task.
For what stands behind all of our inter-Orthodox, inter-Christian, and inter-faith initiatives is the recognition of the innate image of God in every human person. We must persevere in that recognition, for it is in it that the salvation of the world is contained.
It is said in the Scripture that the Disciples who were on the Road to Emmaus with the Lord Jesus recognized Him “in the Breaking of the Bread.”[1] Your miraculous Cathedral here is a place where you begin this process and journey of recognition, but it also continues in dialogue with one another, in peace-making, and in the sharing of cultural experiences and seeing their commonalities.
The Alexandrion Foundation is making tremendous strides along this path of recognizing our interdependence and the spirit of synergy in our global family.
As Ecumenical Patriarch, we bless your endeavors and we thank you for your efforts.
May God grant that we all come to this “knowledge of the truth”[2] of our existence in this world, and inaugurate His Kingdom on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Thank you.
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1. Luke 24:35.
2. I Timothy 2:4.
photos: Nikos Papachristou
