His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is presented with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service for his efforts on environmentalism and human rights.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the U.S. Smithsonian Institution honored Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew during his recent visit to Greece with its Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in recognition of his efforts on environmentalism and human rights.

The Ecumenical Patriarch arrived in Athens on May 13 for a five-day visit. His All Holiness was greeted at the Athens International Airport by the deputy foreign minister Theodoros Kassimis. Later that afternoon, His Beatitude, Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece hosted a luncheon in honor of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit.

U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Daniel Speckhard met with His All Holiness on Wednesday offering his support for the re-opening of the Halki Seminary and religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patriarchate. His All Holiness expressed his satisfaction with the meeting saying that both the United States and the Ecumenical Patriarchate “serve the same ideals of justice, freedom and all the supreme moral values that exist over time and universally, and because of this, we share many common positions.”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew meets with the President of the Republic of Greece, Karolos Papoulias.

The U.S. envoy praised Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for his international efforts to promote environmental awareness as well as advancing inter-faith dialogue and the spiritual health of the world’s citizens and acknowledged His All Holiness’ most recent appearance in Time Magazine’s issue of the World’s 100 Most Influential People in the category of Leaders and Revolutionaries.

The Ecumenical Patriarch later made a two-day visit to Larissa in which he was made honorary citizen and presented with the city’s gold key by its mayor, who emphasized that the city is welcoming the head of the Orthodox Church for the first time in 18 centuries. The following morning, His All Holiness concelebrated the Divine Liturgy with Archbishop Ieronymos along with hierarchs and clergy of the Greek Orthodox Church for the Feast of St. Achillios.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew meets with the Prime Minister of Greece Costas Karamanlis.

At a special reception on Thursday evening, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was presented with the Woodrow Wilson Public Service Award in recognition of “his commitments to the environment, to international peace and human rights, and to eradicating racism”. In his address, His All Holiness cited the concerns of people around the world over a possible environmental catastrophe, saying, “In his unbridled race for material prosperity alone, man risks destroying the beauty of our planet”. Even in the “so-called civil world that calls itself Christian . . . there persists a frenetic race aimed at the environmental destruction of our planet”.

At the conclusion of his visit, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis at the government’s headquarters in Athens on Friday, in the presence of Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis.

View additional photos of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s visit to Greece.