With a powerful message on the urgent need to protect the natural environment,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew issued a heartfelt appeal to the faithful on the occasion of September 1, the Day of Prayer for Creation and the beginning of the new ecclesiastical year.
August 27, 2025
The message of the Ecumenical Patriarch:
By the good pleasure of God the giver of all, we embark today upon a new
ecclesiastical year, glorifying His heavenly name for the uninterrupted and bounteous fruitfulness of the initiatives of His Holy Great Church in the field of
creation’s protection. The Ecumenical Patriarchate not only highlighted the
seriousness of environmental issues from an early stage, but focused attention
on their foundational causes — which are inner, spiritual, and moral — and
proposed solutions based on an Orthodox eucharistic and ascetic ethos.
Orthodoxy, in her faith, divine worship, and witness to the world, is, one
could say, the eco-friendly form of Christianity. Thus, the proclamation of the
Feast of the Indiction as a day of prayer for the protection of the natural
environment was not merely a reaction to the contemporary ecological crisis,
but a natural extension of the Church’s life as “applied ecology.”
From the beginning, we declared the inseparability of respect for creation
and the human person, revealing the common root and interconnection of
environmental and social problems. Alienation from God breeds a possessive
and exploitative attitude and behavior toward creation and fellow human
beings, while life in and according to Christ is a source of environmental
sensitivity and philanthropic action. As the Lord said: “Every good tree bears
good fruit, but a corrupt tree bears evil fruit. A good tree cannot bear evil fruit,
and a corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:17–18).
Respect for spiritual values sharpens our discernment of what is good and
what must be done. Indifference toward the Transcendent and the
“anthropomonism” that follows lead to the entrapment of the human being in
the earthly, that is, to a shrinking of freedom into pragmatic choices and
decisions, always intertwined with superficial views of reality and with the
identification of the good with “what happens to be useful.”
The timely call for “ecological repentance”—beyond the call to remorse for
the ecological damage already inflicted—and to a radical change in mindset and
behavior toward creation, also points to the need to transcend the erroneous
stance that upholds the view of the environmentally destructive “self-regulating
economy” as the only path to development. This stance further fuels the naive
belief in nature’s alleged ability to regenerate itself indefinitely, despite the
human-induced burdens it suffers, such as the intensification of climate change and its devastating global consequences.
Today, in addition to all this, is added the pandemonium of war cries,
bombings, missiles and explosions, which drown out the cry of the innocent
victims of merciless violence and the groaning of creation. The future of life on
our planet will either be ecological and peaceful — or nonexistent.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, alongside its struggle for peace, justice, and
solidarity, will continue to lead in protecting nature, upholding ecological
themes as central issues in inter-Christian and interfaith dialogue, and
promoting the significance of Christian eco-friendly principles and traditions
within international institutions, environmental organizations, scientific
foundations, and civil society. We are confident that cooperation in the field of
ecology strengthens our sense of shared responsibility for the future and opens
up new and favorable prospects.
Returning to what we stated in a previous Message, we once again call upon
the Metropolises of the Mother Church around the world, parishes, and
monasteries to develop coordinated actions and specific interventions to
mobilize the faithful, with emphasis on educating the younger generation.
Applying the ecological implications of our faith in practice is a defining aspect
of our Orthodox identity.
In this spirit, we wish you all a blessed and fruitful ecclesiastical year in good
and God-pleasing works. We call upon the children of the Holy Great Church
of Christ across the globe to live in a true eco-friendly manner and in brotherly
love, to pray for creation and for peace, to strive for the integrity of the natural
environment and sustainability, and to cultivate a culture of solidarity. Through
the intercession and protection of the Most Holy Theotokos Pammakaristos, we
invoke upon you the life-giving grace and great mercy of the Almighty Creator
and All-Merciful God of love.
Blessed Ecclesiastical Year, brothers and children in the Lord!