Overview
- He was received with state honors in Ankara, where he praised Turkey’s regional role, urged respect for human dignity and pluralism, and met President Erdoğan and the head of the Diyanet.
- At an ecumenical prayer in Iznik with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I and other church leaders, he called on Christians to overcome divisions and nurture fraternity.
- The Istanbul program includes a planned visit to the Blue Mosque and participation in an Orthodox liturgy with a shared blessing, signaling rapprochement rather than presiding over a separate Mass.
- Hopes tied to reopening the long‑closed Orthodox seminary on Halki remain unresolved, though the issue features prominently in expectations around the visit.
- He is due to continue to Lebanon, with meetings across confessions, prayer at the Beirut port blast site, and a large public liturgy, extending his peace appeals for the region.