Environment

From Voice of America: Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of close to 300 million Orthodox Christians around the world, recently visited Washington, D.C. to speak about environmental issues. The Patriarch met with U.S. leaders to encourage them to push for environmental initiatives. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.

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Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew tells the Secretary of State that she holds within her “extensive world-view a remarkable comprehension of global political, economic and religious circumstances. In addition to understanding what is power and might, you know as well what is holy and right.”
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Address of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Dinner Honoring Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Benjamin Franklin Room, The State Department, Washington, November 5, 2009:

Good evening, and please be seated. I want to welcome all of you to the Ben Franklin Room here on the eighth floor of the State Department for such a special occasion. It is indeed an honor for me to welcome His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, whom I have had the great honor and personal pleasure of getting to know over the years. And I know we have a number of other very distinguished representatives, His Eminence Geron Metropolitan Athanasios of Chalcedon, His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios of Korea, and, of course, a personal friend of mine, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, who is celebrating his 10th anniversary here in America.

His All Holiness and I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of times since I first visited him as First Lady at the Patriarchate in 1995, but one of our most memorable times together came when Archbishop was enthroned in New York 10 years ago. A lot has happened in the intervening decade, but one thing that has not changed is his All Holiness’s commitment not only to his church and to the people of the church, but to the world, and the work that he has done, which is so important to us all. Continue reading →

As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Prv 27:17

I am generally encouraged by comments made by His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in his recent speech (“A Changeless Faith for A Changing World”) delivered November 3, 2009 at Georgetown University.  Unlike his recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, I found his Georgetown speech a clear presentation of the Gospel and one in which he made his case that there is a direct connection between care for the environment and the Church’s sacramental and ascetical tradition.  Most importantly he clarified his earlier comments about the unity of environment; the unity of creation is not merely the result of physical forces or laws but, as His All Holiness states, the result of the personal and creative action and presence of the Most Holy Trinity.

Let me please begin, however, with where I disagree with His All Holiness. Continue reading →

At the Joint House and Senate Luncheon in his Honor Hosted by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Remarks and Toast of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

The Rayburn Room
The Capitol
Direct Archdiocesan District
Washington, DC
November 4, 2009
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Madame Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid, Your Eminence Archbishop Demetrios and brother Hierarchs, Honored guests and friends, beloved spiritual children in the Lord,

Standing again in this Capitol – this people’s house of democracy and freedom – whose dome rises above every other building in this capital city of the American Nation, our mind travels back in time to twelve years ago, when both we and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople were honored by this august body with the Congressional Gold Medal. At that time, we made a commitment and a pledge to you, the elected representatives of the great American people. We promised you that “in the spirit of freedom, we pledge to redouble our efforts as peacemakers among different peoples and faiths.”

We say to you this day, that in spite of rising tide of intolerance and fanaticism, the Ecumenical Patriarchate continues to fulfill that pledge. Continue reading →