Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I

— A new book claims that the “Greek mafia” controlled not only the drug trade in Tarpon Springs but the local Greek Orthodox Church, too. Some say the book is “a bunch of garbage.”

— Church of Greece bishops are anxious about the new Socialist government’s plan to tax church property. Don’t forget about property owned by the Roman Catholics and the Ecumenical Patriarch, the bishops helpfully remind. Separately, there’s a question about those 1.2 million Euros.

— Archons make their case for the Ecumenical Patriarchate before the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

— “Among the comments that received most attention was Metropolitan Geevarghese Coorilos’s suggestion to look at the reality of the church not only ‘from above’, but also ‘from below’, taking into account the daily experience of ‘being church’ in particular contexts, citing the example of his Dalit church in Kerala, India.” Is this what we mean by “practiced incoherence”?

— While Moscow says that entry of part of the Ukrainian Orthodox into the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will cause divisions, Bishop Makarii (Meletych), Archbishop of Lviv of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, isn’t too concerned.

— Some anti-ecumenist clerics in the Church of Greece say Patriarch Bartholomew’s management style, based on the “smear, slander, intimidate and silence” approach, leaves something to be desired: “This is the well-known tactic of excommunication and an en masse condemnation that does not tolerate a contrary word, cannot even consider a second opinion and crushes anyone who dares to utter one. This is the familiar tactic, which relies on coercion, on marshalling forces, on having the absolute upper hand, on ecclesiastic servility.”

— The OCA’s Metropolitan Jonah is in Georgia (the country) until Sunday.

— Pope Benedict XVI communicated his hope to Abuna Paulos, the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia, that the churches may “draw closer in the unity which is the Holy Spirit’s gift, and bear common witness to the hope brought by the Gospel. Let us continue to work for the integral development of all Africa’s peoples, strengthening the families which are the bulwark of African society, educating the young who are Africa’s future, and contributing to the building of societies marked by honesty, integrity and solidarity.”

Pardon my skepticism but does anyone else find the effusive praise in the handout to Greek Orthodox parishioners last Sunday overbearing? The author tries so hard to convince us of Patriarch Bartholomew’s stratospheric virtues that the entire piece has an “Our Dear Leader” feel to it. It reads, I am sad to say, like propaganda.

Strong words? Yes, but only because the endless strings of ebullient praise muddles other very important points. While Pat. Bartholomew’s stand on the protection of the environment should be applauded, and while he has done much to raise awareness that environmental care is an issue to which Christians can contribute, it does not follow that all of his actions surrounding “creation care” (as some of the participants in the Mississippi River Symposium refer to it) are sound.

For example, as part of Pat. Bartholomew’s environmental program in the United States later this month, he plans a visit to Georgetown University to deliver a talk co-sponsored by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a George Soros funded think-tank originally developed as Hillary Clinton’s cabinet-in-waiting, but now a center of far-left cultural activism. We can say, and CAP would probably agree, that CAP’s sole function is to promote the ideas of “Progressives” — the far left — including moral issues that an Orthodox Christian could never adopt and still remain true to the moral tradition. Continue reading →

From the bulletin insert provide by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese for the Green Patriarch’s visit to the United State later this month:

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew ascended to the Apostolic and First Throne of the Orthodox Christian World on November 2, 1991. Since becoming the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, he has engaged all Orthodox Christians and the world’s diverse religious communities, policy makers and cultural leaders, with his message of peace, reconciliation, restoration, and renewed hope. As the Ecumenical Patriarch, a purely spiritual leader, he transcends national, cultural and ethnic divisions. For the world’s 250 million Orthodox Christians, he is the convener and visible sign of unity of the worldwide Orthodox Christian Church.

In his role as Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew serves as a global peacemaker and bridge builder, a tireless advocate of religious freedom and tolerance, and a champion of environmental conservation and restoration. He has worked tirelessly and courageously for the re-establishment of the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe, torn by the religious oppression of communist and totalitarian governments. Continue reading →

From “Unity as Calling, Conversion and Mission,” the opening address of His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Plenary of the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order event, “Called to be One Church” (Crete, Greece, October 7, 2009):

We should not be frustrated by our human limitations, which unfortunately determine our disagreements and divisions. Our ongoing and persistent pursuit of unity is a testimony to the fact that what we seek will occur in God’s time and not our own; it is, by the same token, the fruit of heavenly grace and divine kairos.

[ … ]

… genuine humility demands from all of us a sense of openness to the past and the future; in other words, much like the ancient god Janus, we are called to manifest respect for the time-tested ways of the past and regard for the heavenly city that we seek (cf. Heb. 13.14). This “turning” toward the past and the future is surely part and parcel of conversion.

[ … ]

… it is the preservation of creation as the proper way of worshipping the Creator and the promotion of tolerance and understanding among religions and peoples in our world. Working closely together on issues of ecological awareness and ecumenical dialogue is a crucial reflection of the “everlasting covenant” (verses 25-26), whereby Ezekiel’s God proclaims: “I will be their God and they shall be my people … forevermore” (verses 27-28). Continue reading →

Clips from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s various environmental symposia are now on YouTube. This first video is from the patriarch’s address in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1997 which, the accompanying text says, “was the first time any religious leader had ever called harming the environment a sin.” The second video is from former Vice President Al Gore’s welcome in Washington during the same 1997 visit. See more videos here.