Christmas tree lights up in the Phanar

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios puts a bauble on the Christmas tree in the courtyard of the Phanar in Istanbul on Wednesday. Vartholomaios sent his wishes for the Christmas holidays through Kathimerini. ‘Many wishes and love not only for the festive period of Christmas but for the whole new year. May God quickly rid us of the coronavirus pandemic so that we can rediscover our daily lives. With love, with peace and every blessing from God,’ he said in his message to Greeks. Several Orthodox communities in Istanbul have been decorating their trees and preparing for the festivities that will bring the few thousand ethnic Greeks closer.