31 August 2017©
On the occasion of the forthcoming 1 September, observed as the "Day for the Protection of Creation", His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew issued a message calling upon “all people of good will to undertake the good struggle for the protection of the natural environment and the establishment of solidarity.”
A historical patriarchal encyclical from 1 September 1989 invited all Orthodox and other Christian faithful “to lift up prayers of thanksgiving to the Creator of all for “the great gift of Creation” along with petitions for its preservation”, reads the text.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew emphasized the role the Holy and Great Council, that took place in June 2016, and “has championed and continues to champion the eco-friendly dynamic of our Orthodox faith, emphasizing the Eucharistic purpose of creation, the response of the faithful as ‘priest’ of creation in an effort to offer it unceasingly to the Creator of all, as well as the principle of asceticism as the response to the modern sense of gratification. Indeed, respect for creation belongs to the very core of our Orthodox tradition”, he wrote.
Reflecting on the current threats to God’s creation, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew expressed concern with the fact that “while it is clear that the ecological crisis is constantly escalating, in the name of financial growth and technological development, humanity has become oblivious to the global appeals for radical change in our attitude toward creation.”
“The short-term benefits dictated by the rise of living standards in some parts of the world simply camouflage the irrationality of abuse and conquest of creation,” he added. “Corporate business that does not respect the planet as our common home cannot be sanctioned as business at all”, wrote the Ecumenical Patriarch.
“We know that nature is not restored and renewed endlessly; yet we ignore the negative implications of ‘trading’ in the environment. This explosive combination of unrestrained commerce and science – that is to say, the limitless confidence in the power of science and technology – merely increases the risks threatening the integrity of creation and humankind,” reads the message.
For Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the solution to the crisis facing human culture and the natural environment demands a multi-dimensional mobilization and joint effort.
“Much as every other vital problem, the underlying and interconnected ecological and social crisis cannot possibly be addressed without inter-Christian and inter-religious collaboration,” he wrote.
“Dialogue becomes the fertile ground for promoting existing eco-friendly and social traditions in order to stimulate environmental and communal discussion, while at the same time initiating a constructive criticism of progress understood exclusively in technological and economic terms at the expense of creation and civilization”, added the Patriarch, who closes the message reiterating “the inseparable nature of respecting creation and humanity.”