 Among his many international positions, he currently sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.Bartholomew I was born in the village of Zeytinliköy () in the island of Imbros (), son of Christos and Merope Archontónis.His secular birth name is "Dimitrios Arhondonis" (Δημήτριος Αρχοντώνης, Dimítrios Archontónis).