Filipe Domingues, Jun 8, 2018, SPECIAL TO CRUX, cruxnow.com
Pope
Francis presents a gift to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of
Constantinople during a meeting in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican
May 26. (Credit: Paul Haring/CNS.)
ROME
- One of the greatest allies of Pope Francis in promoting international
initiatives that defend the environment is the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople, Bartholomew I.
The spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, Bartholomew has been promoting a Christian theology of the environment for decades.
“Our churches are called to offer alternative models of life based on
an approach of the human being in his relationship with God, as a
creature longing for eternal life, living in fraternity and love with
the other,” Bartholomew said in an exclusive interview with Filipe
Domingues for the Brazilian newspaper O São Paulo, which Crux shares with permission.
Francis has developed a close relationship with Bartholomew and acknowledged his influence on his 2015 ecological encyclical Laudato Si’.
Domingues conducted his interview with the patriarch shortly after his visit to Rome in May.
Here is Crux’s exclusive English version of the exchange.
Domingues: Your Holiness, a few days ago, you visited Rome
and met Pope Francis. Also you were a keynote speaker at a conference in
which your speech was titled “A Common Christian Agenda for the Common
Good.” What are the fruits of this visit?
Bartholomew: Every meeting with Pope Francis is
another opportunity for us to re-register the good relations between our
two churches and our will to continue the path towards unity. It is the
encounter of two brothers, the successors of Peter and Andrew the
First-Called, and every such event symbolizes our common heritage, but
above all the common responsibility we share as pastors for the future
of Christianity.
As you see in the title of our speech we come across the word
“common” twice. Church itself is the place of the “common” - an event of
sharing, of love and openness, a “communion of relations.”
Today humanity is facing a serious crisis, [including] its social
outcomes, on a global scale. As we stated in our address, “this
worldwide crisis is a ‘crisis of solidarity,’ an ongoing process of
‘desolidarization,’ which puts the very future of humanity at risk. It
is our deep conviction, that the future of humanity is related to the
resistance against this crisis and the establishment of a culture of
solidarity.”
Our churches are called to offer alternative models of life based on
an approach of a human being in his relation to God, as a creature
longing for eternal life, living in fraternity and love with the other.
God, as we mentioned, is present, wherever love and solidarity exist.
Our churches resist injustice and all powers that undermine social
cohesion by putting forth the social content of the Gospel.
It is Pope Francis’s and our common belief that present ecological
problems have to be approached in connection with the contemporary
social crisis. It is this spirit that our Common Message with Pope
Francis on the ‘World Day of Creation’ (Sept 1st, 2018) expresses.
Concluding our answer, we would like to express our joy for the
opportunity we had, once again, to meet with the Pope Emeritus Benedict
XVI, with whom we associate long-term acquaintance and mutual
appreciation. It was a pleasure for us to share our thoughts on various
spiritual issues.
Thinking of those who are not so familiar with the Orthodox
Church, what are your main concerns today, as patriarch and pastor of
such an important church?
Unquestionably, one of our main concerns is that humanity experiences
the magnificence of Christianity and the transformation that our Lord
Jesus Christ brought upon the universe. A common misconception among our
brothers is to think that this magnificence of Christianity refers only
to art or culture.
Our brethren often seek the aforementioned magnificence of the
Christian faith in Hagia Sophia and in the Chora Monastery in
Constantinople, in Ravenna, in Giotto’s paintings, in the modern and
marvelous Oscar Niemeyer Cathedral of Brazil and its hovering angels,
and in Byzantine music or in Gregorian melodies. But the splendor of
Christianity is not merely found here.
Christianity is represented by people’s countless acts of love,
kindness, compassion, forgiveness and sacrifice-acts that were motivated
by their desire to live as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. A true
Christian is someone who gives off his food to a hungry person; someone
who offers water to a brother that is thirsty; someone who shelters a
stranger; someone who dresses a naked human being; someone who visits an
imprisoned person; someone who takes care of a sick man; someone who
has a good thing to say about all people, even those who disagree with
him; someone who helps those who hate him; someone who doesn’t judge
others; someone who loves his adversaries. Such acts of charity, though
difficult to fulfill, are a natural part of the Christian’s being.
Such disciples of Christ are “the salt of the Earth,” as our Lord
teaches in the Holy Gospel. The glory of Christianity is the amazing
fruit of the faith in Christ, the heart of loving kindness, the love and
solidarity for our fellow human beings and the certainty of the eternal
destiny of all. If you want an answer about my concerns I would focus
on the following fundamental issue, namely, how people can transform the
world by becoming disciples of Christ.
What inspires the actions of Orthodox and Catholic Christians on the path to unity?
With the Western Christians we have shared a common path during the
first millennium of Christianity’s history. Our churches have tasted the
bitter sorrow of separation for many centuries following the schism of
1054. The schism was a painful experience for both sides, regardless of
who bears responsibility for it. Everything changed after the historic
meeting between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in
Jerusalem in 1964, which led to the common lifting of the anathemas
between the two churches.
Fifty years after that historic meeting, following our predecessors’
example and commemorating that unique moment for our two churches, we
gathered again in 2014 with our brother Pope Francis in Jerusalem and
other parts of the Holy Land. During that meeting we confirmed our firm
belief that we need each other’s love and support. The first meeting
between the pope and the ecumenical patriarch in 1964 initiated a
theological dialogue of truth and love between our two churches; the
fiftieth anniversary of this meeting confirmed that our desire for unity
requires further acts of charity and love.
Together, you and Pope Francis ask for more respect for
Creation, for the environment. Is that a major concern that unites the
two of you?
It is an undeniable fact that our planet faces serious problems,
largely due to unprecedented human abuse of God’s creation. Such human
interference has brought about an ecological crisis.
The atmosphere is being polluted more and more with each passing day;
clean water is becoming scarcer since we are polluting our oceans,
rivers and lakes. We are destroying thousands of acres of forests each
year; meadows grow smaller. Changes in the planet’s climate have led to
the loss of many species of our flora and fauna.
We believe that these things have occurred because of our gradual
separation and alienation from God. Even we Christians, who often pride
ourselves over our faith, have distanced ourselves from God. It is easy
to blame others for the destruction of the planet, but we must also ask
ourselves whether or not creation is actually safer in the hands of
Christians.
The ecological crisis is an issue that affects the natural world, but
it stems from a crisis in our hearts. As we seek to advance concrete
and fact-based solutions to the problem, we must also focus on the need
for personal repentance, which would bring about a “change of thought”
and a change in our ways of life. And as we change our lives, we ought
to realize that as members of creation we are not the center of the
world. We depend on God; God does not depend on us.
Could Catholics and Orthodox dream that one day we will celebrate Easter on the same date? Are you optimistic about this?
The subject of a common celebration of Easter is important and
complicated. Therefore, the matter needs to be handled delicately in
order to avoid scandal among the faithful. Nonetheless, this issue is of
great concern to the Orthodox Church.
The idea of a common date of Easter for Orthodox and Catholics was
raised in the regular work of the Pan-Orthodox Conference of 1923 in
Constantinople and later during the 1930 Preparatory Committee Meeting
on Mount Athos. Since then it has been discussed during many
inter-Orthodox meetings.
This shows our sincere desire and hope that, as Orthodox Christians,
we will celebrate Easter on the same day as other Christian brethren. A
common Easter date between Eastern and Western Christians will, among
other things, deliver us from many practical difficulties, especially
important for the faithful of both churches who reside in lands where
Orthodoxy or Catholicism is not the predominant religion.
The truth is, the Orthodox Church will have a difficult time
accepting any decision that overlooks what has already been determined
on this subject matter by the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325
AD). We pray, however, and hope that almighty God will guide our steps.
You were in Egypt with Pope Francis (in April 2017), visiting the Grand Imam of Al Azhar. How would you describe Christian-Muslim dialogue today?
Our meeting highlighted the role of religion in achieving and
maintaining peace in the world. We stressed humanity’s need to embrace
faith and to acknowledge the presence of God. We also emphasized the
need to respect pluralism and diversity.
To this end, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has initiated a dialogue
with Judaism and Islam. It is our responsibility to work with people of
diverse backgrounds. We hope that our cooperation with other religious
traditions, especially on social issues, will bear great fruit for the
entire world. For the Orthodox Church, religious freedom and freedom of
conscience is an imperative part of the process; we cannot accept, under
any circumstance, the fostering of fanatic sentiments against other
religions.
We firmly believe that religious dialogue and, from time to time,
meetings between religious leaders, will help people overcome their
fears of each other, and move from conflict to rapprochement and
peaceful coexistence.
Lastly, neither war nor indifference to the plight of people are
consistent with religious teaching. As we have pointed out time and
again, war in the name of religion is, in fact, a war against that
religion itself.
How would you express your concern for persecuted Christians
in the Middle East, where some of the original Christian communities
risk disappearing?
The persecution of Christians immensely concerns and is the source of great sorrow for us.
Unfortunately, such persecution is not confined to the Middle East.
Christians are persecuted also in other corners of the world where
exists a so-called “Christianophobia.”
In Europe and in many Western societies, policies of secularization
and de-Christianization pose a grave challenge to Christianity. But,
unknown to Christianity’s persecutors, it is a fact that faith in Jesus
Christ is governed by the spirit of peace, love, forgiveness, and
service; we do not seek to exploit and dominate others. The present
reality in Europe and in other parts of the world proves that every
cultural accomplishment and, most importantly, social achievement,
springs from Christian principles.
Thus, the persecution of Christianity actually leads to the persecution of culture and of unique values that beautify our world.
Undoubtedly the situation occurring in the Middle East is alarming.
Many Christians are persecuted, while others are forced to flee from
their ancient homelands. We have voiced our serious concerns countless
times to world leaders; we have reminded them that we have yet to
discover the whereabouts of the two abducted Hierarchs, Greek Orthodox
Metropolitan Paul and Syriac Bishop John Ibrahim, both of Aleppo. We
anxiously wait to receive news from the regional and global authorities
and pray for their safe return.
The Orthodox Church, as it has been stated in the Encyclical of the
Holy and Great Council, convened on the island of Crete, Greece, in June
2016, “is particularly concerned about the situation facing
Christians, and other persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in the
Middle East. In particular, she addresses an appeal to governments in
that region to protect the Christian populations - Orthodox, Ancient
Eastern and other Christians - who have survived in the cradle of
Christianity. The indigenous Christian and other populations enjoy the
inalienable right to remain in their countries as citizens with equal
rights.”