The Archbishop of Canterbury met His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul today.

The Archbishop of Canterbury met His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul today.

During this cordial and informal meeting the Archbishop and the Ecumenical Patriarch discussed the important issues of modern slavery, human trafficking and climate change – reaffirming their commitment to the dignity of all people and the importance of care for God’s creation.

They rejoiced in the various ways that Christians work together across different churches in addressing and combating actions that mar creation and people created in God’s image.

The Archbishop heard from the Patriarch about his understanding of the situation surrounding the Church in Ukraine, and also in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

This follows on from a meeting between the Archbishop and His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow, in Moscow in November 2017 where the Patriarch told the Archbishop about his understanding of the Ukrainian situation.

Archbishop Justin Welby said: “The canonical issues that arise in Ukraine are matters for the Orthodox Church to address. Whilst it is not for me to offer any opinion on the rightness of any side in the debate, I assure the whole of the Orthodox Church and the clergy and people of Ukraine of my prayers for peace and unity within the Church of Jesus Christ.”