The green patriarch

Bartholomew I is one of our world’s most vocal environmentalists

Recalling the rugged pioneer naturalists of the early conservation movement on this continent often conjures up an image of a fearless, bearded adventurer, eloquently writing and speaking of breath-taking lands and majestic rivers. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, one of our world’s most vocal environmental conservationists, evokes a similar image. In the face of the global ecological crisis, he speaks tirelessly on behalf of the preservation and respect of all creation.

Installed as Archbishop of Constantinople in 1991, his work for unity, peace and reconciliation has been at the forefront in his apostolate. However, for the patriarch, spiritual head of 250 million Orthodox Christians, this work signifies not only concrete, ongoing theological efforts toward full unity among Christians, but also tangible environmental initiatives that bridge distances between Christians and other persons of good will, in a shared journey toward the unity of humankind with God and all
of creation.

Bartholomew sees these relationships as intertwining and representative of the reality of the life of God. This theme of unity and creation is woven through his countless initiatives on behalf of the environment. As early as the 1990s the patriarch, through the establishment of the Halki Ecological Institute, promulgated a series of environmental conferences on the interrelated topics of the environment, ethics, justice, communications and poverty. From there he initiated a series of high profile annual meetings on behalf of the world’s endangered river ecosystems, International Symposia on Religion, Science and the Environment. The eighth and most recent was held in October on the Mississippi River, entitled, “Restoring Balance: The Great Mississippi River.”

“Only wisdom could make us realize that the Creation is an interdependent, undivided whole, not an assemblage of isolated, unrelated parts that can be eliminated, replaced or modified as we see fit,” he said, speaking about the impact of biotechnology. “Even the smallest human intervention, even the most minute change in the natural order brought about by human action can have — and does have — long-term often devastating effects on the planet … we need to find balance within ourselves, reassessing our values, as well as what is valuable.”

The patriarch’s contribution to the ecological journey for the preservation of our planet cannot be overemphasized. Increasingly he uses the most diverse occasions to speak of the beauty and immensity of creation and humankind’s responsibility for it.

Invited to speak at the Brookings Institute in Washington in November, in a talk entitled “Saving the Soul of our Planet,” he said: “The environment unites us in ways that transcend religious and philosophical differences, as well as political and cultural differences. Paradoxically, the more we harm the environment the more the environment proves that we are all connected.”

“Let us remember,” the patriarch said at the conclusion of the Mississippi symposium, “that whoever we are, we all have our part to play, our sacred responsibility to the future.”