Bartholomew the “green Patriarch”: From Imvros to Fanari

By Marina Zioziou

Although it has been designated internationally as “Green Patriarch”, as he has stated in an interview, on a personal level he tries to be a “green man”, as he grew up in a small and very beautiful village of Imvros, in Agios Theodoros, in a wonderful natural environment. There the Dimitris Archontonis he dreams and gathers without knowing it the “fertilizer” of his future development.

Little Dimitris is the third of the four children of Christos and Meropi. The firstborn are Zacharo, Nikolaos and the “vienamin” Antonios. A family of bio-wrestlers who, against the difficulties and hardships of the time, tried to offer him generously the best he could. She taught him to love selflessly, to be compassionate and to constantly look for ways to make his dreams come true.

The title of “green patriarch”, originally attributed to him by the media in 1996, but was formally formalized in the White House in 1997 by Al Gore, US Vice President. It was for this courageous leadership action “in defense of the environment as intellectual responsibility” that Time magazine ranked him among the “100 Most Influential People” in 2008.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s involvement with the environment began years before his enthronement in 1991, when a small child was still wandering on the slopes of his birthplace, looking for flowers for his beloved mother and sister.

As a “papadaki” the young-then- Bartholomew crossed the hills and the valleys together with the priest of his village, to help in the divine Liturgy of the nearby chapels. Nature was a refuge and relief in his youth in Imvros (and later in Halki). These first images, smells and emotions prepared his heart and mind for what followed.

Just one month after his election, in 1991, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew convened an ecological conference in Crete. The conference was entitled “Living in the Creation of the Lord” and was inaugurated by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and International President of the World Wildlife Fund.
The Prince’s ties to Orthodoxy have deep roots: his grandfather was King George I of Greece, his grandmother was from the Romanov Russian dynasty and his mother became an Orthodox nun.

In early 1992, Bartholomew convened a gathering of all the Patriarchs and Prelates at Fanari, inaugurating a historic series of such meetings, as an expression of unity, calling on all Orthodox leaders to inform their Churches of how crucial it is for our time. the environmental issue.

The Patriarch continued and continues to organize conferences and symposia at seauntil a few days ago at the Theological School of Halki, with the ultimate goal of awakening us and the ecological awareness to be included in the curricula of the Theological Schools and beyond.

The Primate of Orthodoxy is no coincidence that focused his attention on the water. The central role of Baptism, as a sacrament of entry of all Christians into the Church and the spiritual importance of the Blessing in the daily life of the Orthodox believers, reminded him that the waters of the world are a gift of God’s love for us.

Addressing an international conference in The Hague, the Patriarch said: “Water can never be treated or treated as private property or become a means or purpose of private interest… Water scarcity will inevitably affect everything from global catering to urban development, finding work and location of industries, and even the prospects for peace in the Middle East».

For the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew it is clear that religion can not solve the ecological crisis without science, but science does not have the necessary ability to transform hearts and correct human habits.

It’s impressive, but plants for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew are the wisest teachers and the best examples for the spiritual life.
«They turn to the lightHe wrote in 2010 for the Roman Catholic magazine Seminarium, and “their roots go deep.” In addition, they crave clean water and love fresh air.
«They adapt spontaneously and produce abundantly, either to feed others or to make them admire. They enjoy their own microcosm, at the same time that they contribute equally to the macrocosm around them “.
The same can be said for animals. In the last days of creation, God created a variety of animals, as well as man and woman “in image” and “in likeness.”His.

In the well-known his speech in Santa Barbara in 1997Bartholomew reminded his audience of man’s relationship with the environment.
«Humans and the environment together form a seam of existence, a complex fabric that we believe has been created by God πώς How we treat the earth and all of creation also determines the relationship we each have with God. And it’s also a barometer of how we look at each other…
By reducing our consumption, we ensure that there are resources left for other people in the world».

For the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the environment it is not just another issue among the others, to which the Church must respond. For many reasons, it is the most crucial issue, it is the only issue that determines all the other aspects of our faith.

It is worth noting that the sensitivity and Pope Francis also adopts environmental initiatives of the First Throne Church of Orthodoxy. As the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has stated, “the cooperation of the two Churches in the struggle for the protection of nature is an example to all that anything good for humanity can be achieved only together, only through joint effort.”

Bibliography

• “Bartholomew – Mission and Vision”, by Professor Fr. Ioannis Chrysavgis, Athens Bookstore Publications
• Photos of the late Nikolaos Maggina, Ecumenical Patriarchate