Address by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Holocaust Memorial

This article reproduces the address delivered by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I during his visit to the Holocaust Memorial in Washington on October 20, 1997. It is a solemn speech addressed to a Judeo-Christian assembly, in which the Patriarch reflects on the spiritual and ethical significance of the Shoah. The central idea is that the memory of the Holocaust constitutes a moral and religious imperative shared by Jews and Christians, who are called to move beyond their conflicted history in order to build a relationship founded on mutual respect and love. On a theological level, the text emphasizes Christian responsibility in the face of historical indifference, honors figures of resistance such as Bishop Chrysostomos of Zakynthos, and affirms that authentic faith demands concrete witness against all forms of injustice and violence.