Bartholomew I (Greek:Πατριάρχης Βαρθολομαῖος Α', Patriarchis Bartholomaios A' , Turkish:Patrik I. Bartholomeos; born 29 February 1940) is the 270th and current Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, he is regarded as the primus inter pares (first among equals), and as the spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians.