He was born on Imvros, an island in the Aegean Sea belonging to Turkey. By citizenship he is Turkish, but belongs ethnically to the remnants of the PontianGreek community that used to exist in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, before the exchange of Turks in Greece with Greeks in Turkey as required by the agreements signed by two countries.
As Patriarch, he has been particularly active internationally. One of his first focuses has been on rebuilding the once-persecuted Eastern Orthodox Churches of the former Eastern Bloc following the fall of Communism there in 1990. As part of this effort he has worked to strengthen ties amongst the various national Churches and Patriarchates of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. He has also continued the reconciliation dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church started by his predecessors, and initiated dialogues with other faiths, including Christian, Muslim, and Jewish sects.
Perhaps most unusually, he has gained a reputation as a prominent environmentalist, putting the support of the Patriarchate behind various international environmental causes.
St. Bartholomews Choir sings music of Leighton, Dove, and Shephard.
Bartholomews Summer Festival of Sacred Music, a New York institution, celebrates a new season with a series of outstanding choral works from around the world.
Each Sunday of the festival begins with an organ prelude at 10:45 am and the days piece is presented within the context of St. Bartholomews 11 am church service.
The apostleBartholomew was led to Christ in the region of Galilee, possibly by the apostle Philip and his latter ministry belongs more to the eastern churches than it does to the western churches.
Bartholomew is said to have worn a white robe with a purple stripe and a white cloak with four purple gems at the corners.
Bartholomew is reported to have labored in the area around the south end of the Caspian Sea, in the section that was then called Armenia.
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