Bartholomew I has become known as “the Green Patriarch” for his environmental leadership. More than a decade ago, Bartholomew first announced on an island in the Aegean Sea that pollution and other attacks on the environment should be considered sins.
In a widely-quoted Venice address in 2002, Bartholomew I urged Christians “to act as priests of creation in order to reverse the descending spiral of ecological degradation.” Towards that end, he did not mince words.
“We are to practice a voluntary self-limitation in our consumption of food and natural resources,” Bartholomew said bluntly. “Each of us is called to make the crucial distinction between what we want and what we need. Only through such self-denial, through our willingness sometimes to forgo and to say, ‘no’ or ‘enough,’ will we rediscover our true human place in the universe.”….
Given this growing convergence between pope and patriarch, it’s no surprise that the two men addressed environmental concerns in their Nov. 30 Common Declaration in Istanbul.
“In the face of the great threats to the natural environment, we want to express our concern at the negative consequences for humanity and for the whole of creation which can result from economic and technological progress that does not know its limits,” Benedict and Bartholomew said.
“As religious leaders, we consider it one of our duties to encourage and to support all efforts made to protect God’s creation, and to bequeath to future generations a world in which they will be able to live.”
Of course, neither man arrived at these convictions ex nihilo. They build upon the teachings of their predecessors and traditions with deep roots in their churches, which in turn reflect the clear Biblical mandate to be good stewards of creation.
Did you know that Patriarch Bartholomew will be in London at the end of January to present the result of the last series of Orthodox – Anglican discussions? You heard it here first.
