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An ERT documentary traces the life and ministry of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marking 35 years since his election. The film will air Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at 10 p.m. Greece time on ERT3, ERT Cosmos and ERTFLIX. ERT Cosmos will rebroadcast it Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. Greece time.
In conversation with journalist Pierros Tzanetakos, His All-Holiness reflects on his journey from Imbros to the Phanar. In his home village of Agioi Theodoroi, he welcomes viewers into his house and visits his father’s café and the cemetery where his parents are buried. He recalls his childhood, his earliest experiences of the Church and his love of learning, along with his spiritual father’s counsel: “Walk with your eyes fixed only on Jesus.”
The film explores his efforts to revive the island’s Greek community after the persecutions of 1964, focusing on reopened Greek schools and the young people he sees as the hope for Hellenism’s future.
At the Phanar, he discusses Church unity, dialogue among Christians, interfaith understanding and environmental protection, recalling meetings with popes and world leaders. He also addresses divisions within Orthodoxy, reaffirming the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s enduring primacy and its role in coordinating the Churches’ common work. He emphasizes synodality, with particular reference to the Holy and Great Council held in Crete in 2016.
He also describes the ties linking Constantinople’s Greek Orthodox community to the Patriarchate. At Halki, where he studied, he expresses hope that the Theological School will reopen soon.
Filmed in Imbros, Constantinople and Halki, the documentary is directed by Manolis Papanikitas and features an original score by Evanthia Reboutsika, performed by ERT’s Contemporary Music Orchestra.
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