Bartholomew’s speech in Manhattan: Criticism of the Russian Church and a message of reconciliation to the world

With a code that combined spiritual depth, interest astir the clime crisis, and a wide governmental dimension, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew opened the proceedings of the 15th Annual Concordia 2025 Summit successful Manhattan, considered “the largest and astir inclusive non-partisan forum.” Notably, the Synod coincides with the 80th UN General Assembly, which brings unneurotic leaders from politics, business, civilian nine and religion.

Call to enactment connected the clime crisis

Referring to the caller earthy disasters, namely the fires that deed Chios and the 60,000 acres burned successful California, arsenic good arsenic the progressively predominant utmost upwind events owed to water warming, Bartholomew began his speech. As helium said, “The equilibrium of our earthy ecosystems remains fragile arsenic temperatures rise. This alteration brings achy consequences for each signifier of beingness connected the planet. It is with sadness and interest that we spot fires continuing to impact our shared habitats.”

His Holiness, known internationally for his biology enactment and the nickname “Green Patriarch”, did not bounds himself to describing the problem, but called connected leaders to instrumentality associated action. He reminded america that caring for instauration is not lone an ecological but besides a motivation obligation: protecting the world and the radical who unrecorded connected it are interconnected.

Religion and Politics – The Stance of the Russian Church

Bartholomew past focused connected the instrumentalization of Orthodoxy by secular powers. With explicit notation to the Russia-Ukraine war, helium stressed that spiritual wars are seldom fought for spiritual reasons. Rather, “religion becomes a veil down which acheronian forces of greed, prejudice and aggression dispersed misery successful the world.”

“All of america who person studied past cognize however religion tin beryllium utilized by secular powerfulness to make divisions betwixt cultures,” helium added to emphasize: “We spot it unluckily contiguous among our co-religionists successful Russia, wherever the Church of Russia continues to screen the warfare of the Russian authorities against Ukraine, a sovereign country.”

Meeting with Zelensky – Message of enactment for Ukraine

The Patriarch’s statements connected the warfare successful Eastern Europe were besides symbolic, arsenic they heralded his gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky successful New York, successful the beingness of Archbishop Elpidophore of America. The Ecumenical Patriarch’s beingness astatine this gathering is seen arsenic a connection of enactment to the Ukrainian radical and a confirmation of his presumption successful favour of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Morality, Man and Earth – A azygous vision

The Ecumenical Patriarch besides highlighted the request to bring morals backmost into the nationalist discourse, stressing that the well-being of radical and the extortion of the situation are interrelated tasks: “To honour the world without honouring the radical who unrecorded connected it, oregon vice versa, to honour the radical without honouring the onshore wherever they should prosper, is simply a madness that afflicts our satellite arsenic ne'er earlier successful the past of humanity,” helium noted.

The Ecumenical Patriarch’s connection astatine Concordia

His Holiness’s code was portion of the thematic conception “Promotion of Human Rights and Social Progress” of the Concordia, which seeks to foster communal knowing betwixt antithetic cultures.

The Ecumenical Patriarch’s ministry has seen him look globally arsenic an interlocutor connected issues of faith, authorities and modern challenges, specified arsenic artificial intelligence, and helium has developed relationships with eminent scientists and environmentalists.

The Concordia Synod’s ngo to bring unneurotic business, governmental and civilian nine leaders astir planetary challenges aligns with the Patriarch’s caller speeches to the US State Department and the Council connected Foreign Relations. On some occasions, helium has been an ambassador for interfaith dialogue.

In this context, the Ecumenical Patriarch’s code astatine Concordia is an affirmation of the connection that “the powerfulness of religion to reconstruct motivation and ethical foundations passim the satellite is undeniable.”

It is worthy noting that the illustration of the Patriarch successful Concordia quotes his emblematic phrases concerning biology sin, humanitarian crises and war. Since his predetermination to the Ecumenical Throne successful 1991, helium has addressed parliaments and planetary organizations, from the UN to UNESCO, and has convened galore councils that person promoted an “ecologically affable signifier of Christianity.”

During his apostolic sojourn to the US, Stony Brook University president Andrea Goldsmith said the patriarch had brought the contented of clime alteration to the forefront of nationalist debate: “He has provoked a statement not lone astir the subject of clime alteration but besides astir its motivation implications,” she said – hence the nickname “Green Patriarch”.

For his part, His Holiness praised the ngo of the Concordia Synod by addressing a connection of unity: “By gathering and addressing unneurotic the problems of society, from the section to the planetary level, you admit the interdependence of the quality community,” helium said. “Everyone has a dependable that deserves to beryllium heard. Through connection, you participate – oregon possibly re-enter – a meaningful narration with each other.”

Templeton Award – Global Recognition

The Ecumenical Patriarch’s sojourn to the United States volition reason with his receipt of the prestigious Templeton Award, an grant that recognizes his publication to interfaith dialog and the promotion of peace. His information was supported by theologian Fr. John Chryssavgis, a adjacent collaborator connected biology issues, and by renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall.