His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, was featured on the CBS News program 60 Minutes in 2009.
60 Minutes correspondent Bob Simon met him in Istanbul during Easter, when worshipers from throughout the Orthodox Christian world had come to celebrate Christ’s resurrection.
In the segment, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew states that Turkey is also the Holy Land, spiritually not very far from Jerusalem.
“This is the continuation of Jerusalem. And for us, it is equally a holy and sacred land. We prefer to stay here, even crucified sometimes. Because in the gospel, it is written that it is given to us not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for Christ,” the Patriarch continued.
*Watch the full 60 Minutes segment here-
