Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople addressed the UNFCCC COP-23 Session in Bonn, Germany on November 6-17, 2017. He laments the continued resistance of some for positive changes with regard to climate issues. One salient theme focuses on the urgent need for radical changes in behavior and attitude regarding the negative impact of growth and development on our planet.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople delivered the message below for World Environment Day on June 5, 2009. In it, he emphasizes human's responsibility to "serve and preserve" God's creation. This message is a call to all people to take a more active role in coming together to protect and preserve the environment.
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople delivered a speech on January 9, 2018 for the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Environment. The following one salient excerpt from the speech:
"The Ecumenical Patriarchate’s ecological initiatives provided a stimulus for theology to showcase the environmentally-friendly principles of Christian anthropology and cosmology as well as to promote the truth that no vision for humanity’s journey through history has any value if it does not also include the expectation of a world that functions as a real “home” (oikos) for humanity, particularly at a time when the ongoing and increasing threat against the natural environment is fraught with the possibility of worldwide ecological destruction. This evolution is a consequence of a specific choice of economic, technological and social development that respects neither the value of the human being nor the sanctity of nature. It is impossible to truly care for human beings while at the same time destroying the natural environment as the very foundation of life, essentially undermining the future of humanity."
