NEW YORK , The spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians is currently staying in New York City Hospital after undergoing a stent installation Wednesday afternoon during his U.S. tour. This was according to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
According to the archdiocese, EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, 81, underwent the procedure at Mount Sinai Hospital after an angiogram determined that he needed the stent. To increase blood flow, a stent is a tube that is placed inside a blocked blood vessel.
It said that he was likely to be released on Thursday. Additional details weren't immediately available.
Bartholomew was delayed by the hospital treatment and was not expected to return home to Turkey until Wednesday, following a busy 12 day U.S. itinerary.
Officials from the church said that the trip, which was his first to this country for several years, began with an overnight stay in Washington after he felt "unwell" one day after arriving.
He resumed his itinerary and met with President Joe Biden at The White House. He also received awards from Catholic as well as Jewish organizations.
He spoke clearly and didn't seem tired as he stood for an entire hour at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church near the World Trade Center in New York. The ceremony was to replace a destroyed church in the September 11 attacks. The longest tenure of any patriarch, he attended an evening celebration to celebrate his 30th anniversary.
Bartholomew, as patriarch of Constantinople is considered the first among equals of Eastern Orthodox patriarchs. This gives him prominence, but not the power to be a Catholic pope. Although he does oversee the Greek Orthodox and other jurisdictions, large parts of the Eastern Orthodox world remain self-governing under their patriarchs.
