http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/belief-blog/2009/nov/05/washington...

By Julia Duin on Nov. 5, 2009 into Belief Blog

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They served halibut last night for 200 guests at the vice president's
residence in honor of the Ecumenical Patriarch's visit to Washington
and in deference to the custom of some Orthodox to fast from meat on
Wednesdays and Fridays. Lodged at the St. Regis Hotel, a luxury pad
just up the street from the White House, Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew has been attending a stready stream of receptions on
Capitol Hill, the White House and elsewhere since he landed at Andrews
Air Force Base Sunday night.

One of his first stops was at an Annapolis church, previewed here,
where he celebrated the 18th anniversary of his ascension to his
throne in Istanbul. That was after he spent several days at an
environmental symposium in New Orleans, then went to New York and
Atlanta. Washington is his last port of call before jetting back to
Turkey tomorrow.

I dropped by the St. Regis today to talk with Archbishop Demetrios,
who shepherds Greek Orthodox in this country; a gracious visit with a
man I'd never before met. Seated with bottled water and a plate of
baklava not far away, we talked about the direction of Orthodoxy and
the possibility that some day America could have one Orthodox church
instead of the 10 jurisdictions it has now. More on that later but I
will say the lobby was filled with folks of Greek heritage who were
connected one way or another with the patriarch's visit.

Below, for those of you interested in this sort of thing, is the
speech the Ecumenical Patriarch gave last night at Joe Biden's
residence. Music was provided by the U.S. Army Strings.

- Julia Duin, religion editor

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