THE world’s most senior Eastern Orthodox Christian will visit Oxford today.

His All Holiness Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Constantinople, is due to preside at a special service at the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity and the Annunciation, in Canterbury Road, before giving an address to students at the Oxford Union.

Considered the ‘first among bishops’ of the various branches of Eastern Orthodoxy, he is the spiritual leader of some 250 million Christians worldwide.

Parish priest Father Ian Graham said people had been hard at work getting the church in Canterbury Road ready for his arrival.

He said: “We are all very excited about the visit – it’s going to be a big day for the community.

“It has also sparked a lot of interest among the wider Orthodox community, beyond just the local area, and we have representatives coming from Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes and Reading.”

Mr Graham said the Orthodox Christian community in Oxford had been “a fixture” since the 1940s, when Nicholas Gibbes, an Orthodox priest and former English tutor to the children of the last Tsar of Russia, established a chapel at his house in Marston Street.

The Church of the Holy Trinity and the Annunciation was established to serve Orthodox Christians of all backgrounds and celebrated the 40th anniversary of its consecration two years ago.

Bartholomew’s visit, on the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, will be the first formally made by an Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople to Oxford. Mr Graham added: “For us, it is like meeting the Archbishop of Canterbury, so we are very grateful he has chosen to come and meet us.”

At the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, Bartholemew will be met by church leaders from the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Protestant communities, including acting Bishop of Oxford Colin Fletcher and Archbishop of Birmingham Bernard Longley.

They are expected to join him for the special service of thanksgiving, which will start at 6pm and is open to the public.

Greek Orthodox parish council chairman Dr Theodoros Bargiotas, 37, from Headington, added: “It is very important moment for us and a great honour for Oxford. We hope to make the service as open as possible.”