Kavala: The Ecumenical Patriarch awarded an honorary doctorate of the Department of Forestry of DIPAE

Honorary Doctor of the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment of the International University of Greece (DIPAE) was announced at noon by the Ecumenical Patriarch Mr. Bartholomewduring a special ceremony in the large auditorium of the school.

Panagiotatos, who was accompanied by the Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine, Mr. Epiphanios and the representative of the Archbishop of Athens, Metropolitan Didymoteichus, Orestias and Soufli, Mr. Damascenes, expressed his special joy for the highest honor bestowed upon him, an honor that he said reflects to the institution of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the initiatives it has taken over the years for the protection and preservation of the natural environment.

Mr. Bartholomeos emphasized in his speech that the initiatives of the Great Church of Christ to protect the natural environment, which is threatened today like never before, had a global impact, while he noted that they had a moving response from young people. He referred to the scientific and theological conferences and symposia organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate at sea, to the declarations that were signed, sending to everyone the timely and imperative message of environmental protection.

“This message”, added the Ecumenical Patriarch, “is not addressed only to Christians but also to every person of good will who can and wants to contribute to this end”. He also noted that the ecological crisis as a social problem and respect for human dignity are two sides of the same coin.

At another point in his speech, Mr. Bartholomeos emphasized that in recent years the number of climate migrants has increased significantly, with all that this entails for people’s survival. He characterized as unacceptable the destruction of natural resources, which are necessary for human survival, on the altar of profit to add that “ecology has fallen victim to the economy”.

The second and last day of the visit of Mr. Bartholomew and his entourage to Kavala began with a visit to the deputy governor of Kavala, while he also attended two events organized in his honor by the Municipality and the Chamber of Kavala.

Memories from childhood in Imbro

Last night, the Ecumenical Patriarch attended a concert organized in his honor by the Holy Diocese of Philippi, Neapolis and Thasos in the ancient theater of Philippi, with the participation of Kostas Makedonas, Georgia Dagakis, the choir and the folk orchestra of the holy church of Agios Chrysostom Thessaloniki and the music school of Kavala.

In his short speech, the head of Orthodoxy, addressing the young people, remembered his childhood in Imbros, his parents and teachers, his life on the island, while he also referred to Father Asterios, the humble one, as he described him, his saint of his village.

Yesterday afternoon, moreover, Mr. Bartholomeos performed a trisage at the tomb of the blessed Metropolitan of Philippi, Mr. Procopius, who for forty years shepherded the apostolic metropolis of Philippi, Neapolis and Thassos.

The visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine Mr. Epiphanios to Kavala ends in the early afternoon, with a pilgrimage to the baptistery of Agia Lydia, where, according to tradition, on the banks of the Zygactis River, in 50 AD. the Apostle Paul baptized Lydia, the first European and Greek Christian.

RES-EMP

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