Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has called for a fundamental change in humanity’s relationship with nature, warning that the modern environmental crisis is also a crisis of human values, culture and responsibility.
In his message for September 1, which marks the beginning of the new ecclesiastical year and the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment, Bartholomew urged greater ecological responsibility and international cooperation to protect the planet.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate has designated September 1 as a day of prayer for the natural environment since 1989.
“The multifaceted contemporary ecological crisis is a crisis of human freedom, of his religion and philosophy, of his ethos and culture,” Bartholomew said in his message.
He connected the environmental crisis not only with ecological destruction but also with the way modern societies understand freedom, economic development and humanity’s relationship with nature.
A call for a “Copernican turn”
Bartholomew said the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s environmental initiatives, including ecological conferences and inter-Christian and interfaith dialogue, form part of a broader environmental vision.
He emphasized the need for what he described as a “Copernican turn” in humanity’s understanding of progress and its attitude toward nature.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, he said, will continue promoting its environmental position, with particular emphasis on the theological dimension of protecting creation.
Bartholomew also argued that highlighting the religious and ethical dimensions of the environmental threat could lead to greater awareness of humanity’s responsibility toward nature.
“Ultimately, human beings must stop acting as if they did not know and definitively abandon the illusion that planet Earth can forever overcome human-made burdens and destruction, that nature has the power to renew itself on its own,” he said.
“The ethos of responsibility for protecting the natural environment must be expressed at the global, national, local and personal levels,” he added.
Criticism of consumerism
The Ecumenical Patriarch also criticized a model of development based on the continuous accumulation of wealth and consumption, linking environmental destruction to deeper changes in human values and behavior.
“Humanity is undermining its future and destroying its ‘home,’” Bartholomew said.
He argued that what he called humanity’s “modern sins” have created and continue to create new divisions between people and nature.
He also criticized what he described as the modern “human-god” for pursuing the destruction of the Earth while disregarding limits in the name of geopolitical plans, economic interests and consumerism.
According to Bartholomew, these pressures are also driven by the pursuit of essentially insatiable needs and deeper changes in human experiences and values.
Solidarity and respect
Bartholomew called on humanity to adopt a new framework of shared values centered on solidarity, collective responsibility and respect for both people and nature.
He concluded his message marking the beginning of the new ecclesiastical year by extending his wishes to all believers and invoking the grace of Christ and the protection of the Virgin Mary.
