Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was declared a member of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences

The proclamation took place in a special ceremony under the imposing domes of the Institut de France in Paris, which houses five academies.

A number of personalities from France were present, including the country’s former prime minister Alain Juppé.

Also present were a delegation of the Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Dora Bakoyannis, who has been elected a corresponding member of the French Academy since 2008 and is the only foreign woman in the Academy, as well as the permanent representative of Greece to UNESCO, Giorgos Koumoutsakos.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: “The succession acquires a particularly symbolic meaning - It also manifests the spiritual bond between Rome and Constantinople”

The Primate of Orthodoxy addressed the audience, in French. “I feel deeply honored to be welcomed today to your glorious assembly, which is an example of the high tradition of the French spirit, especially when it is placed at the service of moral principles and the common good,” the Ecumenical Patriarch said in his speech, adding that no joy can be compared to the opportunity he had to pay tribute to his predecessor, Pope Benedict.

“This succession acquires a particularly symbolic meaning. It demonstrates not only the continuity of an academic tradition, but also the spiritual bond between Rome and Constantinople,” noted Mr. Bartholomew.