An appeal for the implementation of an Olympic truce was addressed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on the occasion of the opening of the Paris Olympic Games, wishing that this year’s Games will be the starting point not just for a temporary ceasefire, but for the end of all bloody military conflicts, especially in the hard-tested Ukraine and in trouble Middle East.

The Ecumenical Patriarch officiated yesterday, July 26, at the celebratory church of Agia Paraskevi in ​​Picridius, in Horn Bay in Constantinople, and in his speech after the divine liturgy he mentioned, among other things, that “Saint Paraskevi, who resisted the tyrants, through the all-powerful grace of God, as a result of defeating them spiritually and leading them to faith in Christ , gives us a message of hope with her example that it is not the Christian’s own fear, cowardice and anxiety that sorrows and pain create during the tragic moments of life” to add: “On the contrary, it reminds us that the duty of the Christian it is the sport, the fight. It is no coincidence that the holy hymn writer in the epitome of Saint Paraskevi calls her “athletic”, to show that she exercised legitimately and well, which is why she has been crowned and honored, for centuries now, by all generations of Christians”.

Paralleling the life of Agia Paraskevi in ​​this way with the sports rivalry, Mr. Bartholomeos then referred to the Olympic Games, joining his voice with that of Pope Francis in favor of the Olympic truce.

The Ecumenical Patriarch said: “If the athletes participating in the Olympic Games in Paris compete with zeal and noble competition to win the coveted medal, you realize, beloved children, how much greater our zeal must be and how much higher our competitive mind, in order to win the amaranth crown of God himself! We take the opportunity of the official opening of the Olympic Games tonight to join our voice with that of his most holy brother Pope Francis in favor of the Olympic Truce, which since ancient times has been a self-evident condition for the Olympic Games to be held and respected by all as sacred and inviolable. Let us, after the burning heart of the Lord of peace, and this year’s Games in the City of Light be the starting point not just for a temporary cease-fire, but for the end of all bloody military conflicts, especially in the severely tested Ukraine and in the variously troubled Middle East East, and for the rule of just and lasting peace in these long-suffering regions”.