On the first day of the church year, where wishes and blessings are traditionally heard, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew chose to speak about responsibility . In his message for the beginning of the Indictment , the central issue is not prayer itself, but the attitude that must follow it, both on a collective and personal level, towards the natural environment.
The choice of the date has its own history. Since 1989 , the Ecumenical Patriarchate has established September 1 as the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment. It was a move well ahead of its time, in years when ecology had not yet found the place it holds today in public debate, and it gave the See of Constantinople a firm voice in a field not usually considered ecclesiastical.
This year’s message begins precisely there, from the refusal to address the ecological crisis as a technical problem. The Patriarch connects it with human freedom , with ethics , with religion , philosophy and culture , recalling that the initiatives of the Patriarchate highlighted the spiritual and social aspects of the issue from the very beginning.
In other words, the question is not just what we are doing on the planet, but what kind of people we have become to do it.
The phrase that summarizes the reasoning is one and remains. “Man must cease to act as if he did not know.” The knowledge of the consequences exists, has been available and documented for decades. What is missing is the matching of behavior with what we already know. And the planet, warns Bartholomew, does not have the capacity to absorb the burdens of human activity indefinitely .
In terms of what is required, the message leaves no room for shifting responsibility to others. Environmental protection requires action at global, national, local and personal levels, with ecological awareness being characterized as a “categorical imperative” . The term is borrowed from philosophy and was obviously chosen for its weight. It does not describe an exhortation but an obligation without conditions, exceptions or negotiation.
Then the criticism becomes direct. The Patriarch turns against the uncontrolled exploitation of nature for geopolitical and economic interests, but also against consumerism and the relentless pursuit of material well-being. Persevering on this path, he notes, does not just harm the environment. It undermines the future of humanity and endangers life itself on the planet.
The closing of the message attempts to show the way. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without shared values, cooperation and solidarity , while concern for human dignity and care for the integrity of creation are presented as two aspects of the same Christian faith. This connection is perhaps the most essential point of the entire text. The way we treat nature and the way we treat people are not separate issues.
The conclusion returns to the language of the day, with the wish that the new ecclesiastical year will prove creative and fruitful in good works .
