Christian World | Rome's Angelicum university gave Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I an honorary doctorate in theology on Friday, citing his ecumenical work

ACW | October 24, 2026 — The Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome awarded Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople an honorary doctorate in theology on Friday, October 23, 2026, Vatican News reported.

According to Vatican News, the degree was conferred at the opening of the university's 2026–2027 academic year. Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, delivered the laudatio.

Koch said that during Bartholomew's ministry, relations between the "sister Churches of Rome and Constantinople" had developed steadily. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, and Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, also attended.

In his address, Bartholomew said the Orthodox Church does not see itself as "a federation of independent Churches." According to Orthodox Times, he described the path ahead for Christianity as "humility before triumphalism, encounter before isolation, dialogue before division, and communion before nationalism."

The ceremony was part of a conference marking ten years since the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016. Vatican News said Bartholomew had marked the 35th anniversary of his election as patriarch the day before, on October 22.

Background: The Angelicum announced on October 8 that the doctorate, promoted by its Institute for Ecumenical Studies (Oecumenicum), would be awarded. Vatican News said Bartholomew's pilgrimage in Italy will also take him to Assisi and Loreto in the coming days; Pope Leo XIV earlier cancelled his own visit to the Assisi peace meeting to aid his recovery.

Why it matters: According to AsiaNews, Cardinal Koch said the honour recognised Bartholomew's "exceptional contribution" to ecumenical thought. The same outlet reported that the dicastery's secretary called the "dialogue of faith and truth" and the "dialogue of love" the "two lungs" of the ecumenical movement.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Vatican News — Angelicum honorary doctorate for Bartholomew; Angelicum — announcement of the honorary doctorate; Orthodox Times — Ecumenical Patriarch receives honorary doctorate in Rome; AsiaNews — theology doctorate for Bartholomew

Photo: Vatican News