Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, traveled to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Forum for Promoting Common Values among the Followers of Religions.

In his address, the 82-year-old Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized peacemaking and ecology.

“Progressive intellectuals are, in a way, accused of having indirectly strengthened fundamentalist excesses in religion since they downgraded religious faith and practices,” he said. “Fundamentalist explosions are often reactions to an offence of faith. Dialogue and openness are the antidotes to fundamentalism.”