As both attended several meetings with Pope Francis in the Vatican, the Head of the Orthodox Churches, His Holiness Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) met in as side room to discuss their cooperation on matters of creation care and an upcoming joint visit to Saudia Arabia in May 2022. As Schirrmacher had done in a plenary meeting of religious leaders when meeting with the head of COP26, he also congratulated the Patriarch to his 60th anniversary as a priest.