On the cover of his latest book, Free Children of God, he appears with a solemn expression, prominent veins, and eyes imperceptibly reddened by fatigue. The photo, taken in Kyiv in December 2018 on the sidelines of a “reunification council” that painfully ratified the creation of an independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, is revealing. “That day, I had to defend a very difficult position. One should not look at these photos!” he recounted during a roundtable dedicated to the book’s release on February 26 at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Stephen in that part of Paris that is home to foreign embassies and renowned museums. “Very difficult” days—this skilled diplomat surely no longer counts them.

For Emmanuel Adamakis, his real name, is the man of perilous missions in a profoundly fractured Orthodoxy. At the Phanar, the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul (Turkey), Patriarch Bartholomew regularly refers to him as his “foreign minister.” How did this native of Crete, the only son of modest parents—“prosperous without being rich, humble without being submissive, devout without being bigoted”—come to move among the highest circles of Orthodoxy? In his early twenties, the young and fervent Emmanuel decided to leave his native island, bordered by the Aegean Sea, and board a plane to Paris.

In the French capital, he received a solid education—studying at the Catholic Institute of Paris, the Saint-Serge Institute, the Sorbonne, and the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), an institution of advanced studies in Paris, later completing a master’s degree in theology in Boston. But above all, he increasingly felt his calling to religious life. Along the way, he made an impression.

Less than twenty years after his ordination in 1985, he was enthroned as Metropolitan of France in 2003, an important position he held until 2021. Even then, he was known for being constantly on the move. “People reproached me for never being there. But I do not have the gift of ubiquity,” conceded the former president of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France (AEOF), who has met several heads of state, from French Presidents Jacques Chirac to Emmanuel Macron, and has developed excellent relations with the French Catholic world, where he remains well regarded.

A "passionate" figure

In Istanbul, where he has lived since his election as Metropolitan of Chalcedon in March 2021, his reputation as a hyperactive globe-trotter preceded him. “Have you heard from him? He’s always traveling,” joked a regular in Istanbul’s Greek enclave. “In this role, Emmanuel has very few faithful under his direct pastoral care, which allows him to be deeply involved in international affairs,” noted someone close to him. The man himself admits that this frenetic pace of travel has become “a way of life.”

Beyond the Ukrainian issue, where he has made his mark, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon has been tasked with several pressing matters at the request of Patriarch Bartholomew. Notably, he was one of the key figures behind the Pan-Orthodox Council of 2016 in Crete—the first such gathering in nearly a thousand years. The event ended with mixed success, as the Moscow Patriarchate withdrew at the last moment, bringing with it four of the fourteen autocephalous Orthodox Churches.

Today, particularly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2021, this politically astute man takes a harsh view of Patriarch Kirill’s stance, as the latter continued to challenge Constantinople’s primacy of honor in the Orthodox world. “Even if he were under pressure from the Kremlin at the start of the war, it would have been better for him to resign in order to protect his people. It is better to be a hero for one’s country and church than to remain, as Pope Francis put it, ‘an altar boy’ of Putin.”

Ecumenical action

This diplomatic frankness, which sometimes unsettles his interlocutors, also defines the ecumenical work of this polyglot, whom his peers describe as “passionate.” As president of the commission for dialogue with the Catholic Church, he has contributed to historic rapprochement efforts. “Rarely have relations with the Vatican been so good,” says a source at the Phanar. Emmanuel is currently involved in preparing celebrations for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, hoping to establish “a common date for Easter” and to welcome Pope Francis to Iznik, the ancient city of Nicaea—provided the pontiff recovers from his hospitalization and confirms his visit.

Could the man whom some foresee as a future Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople ever feel discouraged by the depth of these divisions? “No, I always hold onto hope. Even if each meeting does not yield immediate visible results, it is always a step forward. Meeting the other, speaking, engaging in dialogue is the only way to move forward,” insisted this tireless advocate for unity. It is a message he reiterates powerfully in his latest book, which Bartholomew himself, also fluent in French, has promised to read “soon.”

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The Orthodox Church: A messenger of 'freedom'

A dense book that borders on a spiritual essay, autobiography, and contemporary analysis. Faced with the global rise in conflicts, the environmental crisis, and religious divisions, Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon delivered a message of hope in Free Children of God. He reaffirms the Orthodox Church’s commitment, particularly under the leadership of Patriarch Bartholomew, to advancing along the path of emancipation and fostering “a full-fledged relationship with modernity.”