“We shall continue, in word and deed, to promote the ecological vision of the Holy Great Church of Christ and the eco-friendly dynamism of the eucharistic, ascetic, and doxological relationship with creation,” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I emphasised in his message for the Day of Prayer for the Environment.
His All-Holiness explained that the state of the environment is connected to the way humanity understands freedom and its relationship with God.
“The multidimensional contemporary ecological crisis is a crisis of human freedom, of our religion and philosophy, of our ethos and our culture. What comes first is the “harmful alteration” of our freedom — our severance and alienation from the Source of Life; what follows is conduct destructive of the natural environment.”
“Humanity must at last cease acting as though it does not know and definitively cast aside the illusion that planet Earth can in perpetuity withstand the burdens and destruction caused by human activity, or that nature has the power to renew itself of its own accord,” Patriarch Bartholomew I added.
His All-Holiness recalled that the Ecumenical Patriarchate has undertaken initiatives to protect the environment since 1989 through symposiums, dialogue, and recommendations addressed to communities and institutions.
An imperative for humanity
The Ecumenical Patriarch said that responsibility for the environment must be assumed at every level, from the international community to each individual.
“The ethos of responsibility for the protection of the natural environment must find expression at the global, national, local, and personal levels. We reiterate once again that the cultivation of ecological responsibility is a “categorical imperative” for humanity as it confronts the greatest threat it has ever been called to face throughout the entire course of its history,” His All-Holiness emphasised.
“More broadly, humanity needs to reach agreement upon a body of common fundamental values which, in a world marked by conflict and polarization, will serve as a compass for the journey towards the future. We regard the principle of solidarity as the central axis of this body of values: solidarity as a source of shared responsibility, dialogue, and sincere reciprocity, together with collective responsibility for the protection of the natural environment.”
Patriarch Bartholomew also recalled that 1 September, which marks the beginning of the Church Year, has an important liturgical dimension:
“ Respect in practice for the sacredness of the human person and care for the integrity of creation are, from a Christian perspective, vital manifestations of the eucharistic realisation of the Church and of human being’s call to become the “priest” of creation.”
At the conclusion of his message, His All-Holiness expressed his hope that the new Church Year would be “favourable and fruitful in works that are good and pleasing to God”, invoking upon the faithful the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ through the intercession of the Mother of God.
Photo: Ecumenical Patriarchate / Nikos Papachristou
