Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I was admitted on Monday as an associate member of the French Academy, where he said the institution “places itself at the service of the principles of ethics and the common good.”
The induction ceremony took place under the dome of the Académie Française, where His All-Holiness was formally received as an associate member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, occupying the seat previously held by Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Metropolitan Iosif of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis of Western and Southern Europe also attended the event.
His All-Holiness stressed the deeper significance of this succession: “The fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is entrusted with this seat gives this moment a meaning that goes far beyond personal satisfaction. This place thus becomes a space of living memory and, at the same time, a sign of hope.”
“The truth of the human person transcends any algorithm”
Patriarch Bartholomew I addressed the challenges of the contemporary world, warning that “without being anchored in truth, freedom becomes arbitrary, equality turns into levelling, and fraternity into a mere formula without power.”
He also cautioned against the unchecked impact of technology and artificial intelligence: “In today’s world, where technology and artificial intelligence increasingly shape our lives, there is a risk of reducing truth to calculation or functionality.”
“The truth of the human person transcends any algorithm: it is relationship, revelation and meaning. Reason without truth loses its direction, and freedom without truth ultimately destroys itself,” the Patriarch said.
The Ecumenical Patriarch called for unity in the pursuit of truth: “We are called to seek a truth that does not divide but unites; that does not dominate but serves. Only such a truth can found a just order and open the horizon of an authentic future.”
Patriarch Bartholomew I was elected as an associate member of the French Academy last year. On April 28, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron signed the decree confirming his election.
Photo: Ecumenical Patriarchate / Nikos Papachristou
