(sigh) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was at Fordham University<\/a> in New York to receive an award yesterday and give a speech. A number of things jump out. First, a recap.<\/p>\n

In his post, “The Patriarch, the Enlightenment, and the Environment,”<\/a> here on the Observer, Fr. Gregory Jensen reminds us that the human heart needs communion with a person, not an inanimate object.<\/p>\n

\nWhether in the Holy Trinity or in the human family, personal communion is radically different then the union possessed by \u201cmolecules of water\u201d or by \u201cparticles of atmosphere.\u201d The union of the physical creation is impersonal. There is no communion between molecules of water or particles of air.<\/p>\n

Thus the comparison of the human to the non-human world in these terms makes all conversation about what is in our best personal or national interest meaningless. When particularity is subsumed into an abstraction, the differences between people ultimately have no meaning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But, in his Fordham speech, Patriarch Bartholomew offered this:<\/p>\n

The truth is that we refuse to behold God\u2019s Word in the oceans of our planet, in the trees of our continents, and in the animals of our earth.<\/strong> In so doing, we deny our own nature, which demands that we stoop low enough to hear God\u2019s Word in creation. We fail to perceive created nature as the extended Body of Christ.<\/strong> Eastern Christian theologians always emphasized the cosmic proportions of divine incarnation. For them, the entire world is a prologue to St. John\u2019s Gospel. And when the Church overlooks the broader, cosmic dimensions of God\u2019s Word, it neglects its mission to implore God for the transformation of the whole polluted cosmos.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Certainly, in a setting like Fordham, it is appropriate to offer a gracious nod to the “ecumenical imperative.” But in his speech, the Patriarch went beyond this to invoke the familiar tropes related to the “end of history” and the “clash of civilizations” to show how these were obstacles to interfaith relations — and the “true nature” of religion.<\/p>\n

Christians and Muslims lived alongside each other during the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires, usually supported by their political and religious authorities. In Andalusia Spain, believers in Judaism, Christianity and Islam coexisted peacefully for centuries. Such historical models reveal possibilities for our own pluralistic and globalized world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He did not indicate when this golden age of interfaith comity in Spain ended, but it certainly ran out of steam with the Reconquista<\/a>, a program which asserted a very particular understanding of religious faith. What’s more, the Patriarch could have helpfully pointed out that Christian-Moslem dialogues are too often one-way conversations. As Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos) has written in “Facing the World: Orthodox Christian Essays in Global Concerns”:<\/p>\n

… we must not view things too romantically. Dialogue presupposes that both sides desire to have such a relationship and to explore it. Until today, however, this attitude has been promoted more in the Christian world. We cannot say the same for the Muslim world, where with few exceptions a similar desire has not presented itself.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One more thing, and I’ll stop here, Patriarch Bartholomew appealed to the “way of the heart” as a radical response to violence.<\/p>\n

This is why peacemakers threatened the status quo. Indeed, the Sermon on the Mount shaped the pacifist teaching of Leo Tolstoy, whose work The Kingdom of God is Within You was molded by the writings of the Philokalia and in turn profoundly influenced both the nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) and the civil rights activism of Martin Luther King (1929-1968).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Problem is, Tolstoy’s understanding of the Kingdom of God, and undoubtedly the Philokalia, was somewhat un-Orthodox<\/em>. Responding to a questioner who asked him why the Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated Tolstoy, Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk said recently<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u2018It was not the Church who condemned Tolstoy but Tolstoy who condemned the Church. He condemned and discredited it, humiliated and insulted it in many of his works. For instance, in his Resurrection, he gave an utterly blasphemous description of the Divine Liturgy\u2019. According to His Eminence, the writer\u2019s works of this kind include the so-called \u2018translation\u2019 of the Gospel. \u2018Having no knowledge of the Greek language, Tolstoy simply rendered the Gospel, distorting the text consciously by throwing out many importance passages and adding his own blasphemous comments\u2019, he said.<\/p>\n

Precisely for this reason, the Orthodox Church announced that this man, who had never belonged to it, placed himself outside of the church fold by his blasphemous and sacrilegious utterances. In response to that decision of the Holy Synod, Leo Tolstoy declared, \u2018I have really repudiated the Church\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Tolstoy excommunicated himself and announced it publicly. The Church only had to ascertain the accomplished fact. It is a different matter that before his death he must have felt agony and torments. He set off for the Optina Monastery possibly to make repentance but eventually he did not because his relatives did not let a priest to come to him. As Leo Tolstoy died without repentance, we can only commit his after-death fate to the hands of God and the Lord Himself will judge him\u2019, the archbishop said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Full text of press release and speech follows:<\/p>\n

Fordham University Bestows Highest Honor on Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oct 28, 2009<\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2013 Fordham University conferred yesterday its highest honor, the Honorary Doctorate of Laws, to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew \u201cfor his remarkable service to the world community and for the principles that he continues to uphold.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solemn and historic conferral ceremony was held in the University Church at the Rose Hill Campus in Bronx, NY and was attended by many hundreds of people, University officials and trustees, professors and students, clergy of the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthodox Churches, honored guests and hundreds of faithful.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a grace to welcome your All Holiness,\u201d said Stephen Freedman, Senior Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, acting as the Master of Ceremonies. His Excellency Timothy M. Dolan , the Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York offered the invocation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAXIOS\u201d (meaning \u201cworthy\u201d in Greek), was exclaimed several times by Fordham University President, the Reverend Joseph M. McShane, S.J., as he highlighted the Ecumenical Patriarch\u2019s work in the advancement of ecumenical dialogue, his devotion to the promotion of peace and his dedication to the cause of environmentalism.<\/p>\n

His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan, Papal Delegate of His Holiness Benedict XVI conveyed the welcome and brotherly greeting of the Pope and in his comments underlined the importance of dialogue which one day will lead to becoming one as \u201cit is the wish of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fr. McShane read the Citation and along with, John N. Tognino , the Chairman of the Board of Trustees conferred to His All Holiness the honorary degree. The Fordham University Choir sung the Ecumenical Patriarch\u2019s Polychronion (a prayer hymn for health and many productive years).<\/p>\n

His All Holiness delivered a very important address entitled \u201cDiscerning God\u2019s Presence in the World\u201d in which he emphasized \u201c the primacy of ecumenicity or the value of opening up in a world that expects us \u2018always to be prepared to give an answer to everyone that asks us to give the reason for the hope within us .\u2019\u201d (1 Peter 3:15) In concluding the address, His All Holiness summarized the theme of his remarks:<\/p>\n

“Opening up to the heart; opening up to the other; and opening up to creation. Our age demands no less than openness from all of us. We hear it stated often that our world is in crisis. Yet, never before in history have human beings had the opportunity to bring so many positive changes to so many people simply through encounter and dialogue .\u201d (see full text below)<\/p>\n

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America offered a thoughtful and edifying benediction at the conclusion of the ceremonies.<\/p>\n

A reception followed for all in attendance, and the University President hosted a dinner for the Patriarchal party and other honored guests.<\/p>\n

Contact: Stavros Papagermanos
\nTel.: (212) 570-3530 or (718) 415-5850
\nEmail: pressoffice@goarch.org<\/p>\n

ADDRESS OF HIS ALL HOLINESS ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH
\nB A R T H O L O M E W<\/p>\n

\u201cDISCERNING GOD\u2019S PRESENCE IN THE WORLD\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Convocation and Honorary Degree
\nIn Honor of His All Holiness
\nFordham University Church<\/p>\n

(October 27, 2009)
\n* * *
\nMost Learned President, Father Joseph McShane,
\nEsteemed Members of the Board of Trustees and
\nBeloved Brothers of the Society of Jesus,
\nMost Learned Professors and Students,
\nYour Eminences and Graces,
\nDistinguished Guests,
\nBeloved children and people of God,<\/p>\n

Introduction: The Ecumenical Imperative<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is with sincere gratitude that we accept this invaluable honor of being received into the doctoral college of this esteemed Jesuit school. We welcome this privilege as a recognition of the sacred ministry of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, an Apostolic institution with a history spanning seventeen centuries, throughout retaining its See in Constantinople.<\/p>\n

Yet, our Church is no worldly institution; it wields no political authority. Instead, it leads by example, coordinating Pan-Orthodox Christian unity by virtue of a primacy of love and honor \u2013 a ministry emanating from its supra-national authority. This universal consciousness gave rise to the first seven ecumenical councils, articulated the \u201cSymbol of faith\u201d (or Nicene Creed) and established the New Testament Canon; it also gave birth to Churches from the Caspian to the Baltic, and from the Balkans to Central Europe; today, its jurisdiction extends to the Far East, Western Europe, Australia and America.<\/p>\n

Of course, this ecumenicity constitutes both an ancient privilege and a lasting responsibility, demanding an open ministry within our own communions, among other Christian confessions, as well as toward the world\u2019s faith communities. Within our ecumenical initiatives, the international theological dialogue with our \u201csister Church\u201d of Rome \u2013 instituted in the 1960s as the \u201cdialogue of love\u201d and continuing today as the \u201cdialogue of truth\u201d \u2013 comprises our foremost encounter of \u201cspeaking the truth in love.\u201d A concrete example of this encounter here at Fordham is the Orthodox Christian Minor Studies Program, which is the first of its kind at a major university in the United States. This program complements the existing annual \u201cOrthodoxy in America Lecture\u201d and the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, and demonstrates a practical synergistic spirit, modeling for Orthodox and Roman Catholics everywhere a shared common purpose based in truth and in love.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, our purpose this evening is not to outline for you the manner in which the ecumenical imperative defines our Church but, rather, to inspire in all of you the primacy of ecumenicity or the value of opening up in a world that expects us \u201calways to be prepared to give an answer to everyone that asks us to give the reason for the hope within us.\u201d (1 Peter 3.15) In this regard, we would like to draw your attention to three dimensions of \u201copening up\u201d or \u201cecumenical consciousness.\u201d
\n
\n(i) Opening up to the heart,
\n(ii) Opening up to the other, and
\n(iii) Opening up to creation<\/strong><\/p>\n

(i) Opening up to the Heart: The Way of the Spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n

As faith communities and as religious leaders, it is our obligation constantly to pursue and persistently to proclaim alternative ways to order human affairs, ways that reject violence and reach for peace. Human conflict may well be inevitable in our world; but war certainly is not. If the twenty-first century will be remembered at all, it may be for those who dedicated themselves to the cause of tolerance and understanding.<\/p>\n

Yet the pursuit of peace calls for a reversal of what has become normal and normative in our world. It requires conversion (metanoia) and the willingness to become individuals and communities of transformation. The Orthodox Christian spiritual classics emphasize the heart as the place where God, humanity, and world may coincide in harmony. Indeed, The Philokalia underlines the paradox that peace is gained through witness (martyria), perceived not as passivity or indifference to human suffering but as relinquishing selfish desires and acquiring greater generosity. The way of the heart stands in opposition to everything that violates peace. When one awakens to the way within, peace flows as an expression of gratitude for God\u2019s love for the world. Unless our actions are founded on love, rather than on fear, they will never overcome fanaticism or fundamentalism.<\/p>\n

In this sense, the way of the heart is a radical response, threatening policies of violence and politics of power. This is why peacemakers threatened the status quo. Indeed, the Sermon on the Mount shaped the pacifist teaching of Leo Tolstoy, whose work The Kingdom of God is Within You was molded by the writings of the Philokalia and in turn profoundly influenced both the nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi (1869 \u2013 1948) and the civil rights activism of Martin Luther King (1929 \u2013 1968). Sometimes, the most \u201cprovocative\u201d message is \u201cloving our enemy and doing good to those who hate us\u201d (Luke 6.27). Some may announce \u201cthe end of faith\u201d or \u201cthe end of history,\u201d blaming religion for violent aberrations in human behavior. Yet, never was the peaceful \u201cprotest\u201d of religion more necessary than now; never was the powerful \u201cresistance\u201d of religion more critical than today. Ours is the beginning, not the end of either faith or history.<\/p>\n

(ii) Opening up to the Other: The Way of Dialogue<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is why the interreligious gatherings initiated by the Ecumenical Patriarchate are crucial for paving the way toward peaceful coexistence between the world\u2019s peoples. Such dialogue draws people of diverse religious beliefs and cultural traditions out of their isolation, instituting a process of mutual respect and meaningful communication. When we seek this kind of encounter, we discover ways of coexisting despite our differences. After all, historical conflicts between Christians and Muslims are normally rooted in politics and not in religion. The tragic story of the crusades is a telling example, bequeathing a legacy of cultural alienation and ethnic resentment.<\/p>\n

Speaking, then, of an inevitable and inexorable \u201cclash of civilizations\u201d is incorrect and inappropriate, especially when such a theory posits religion as the principal battleground on which such conflict is doomed to occur. National leaders may provoke isolation and aggression between Christians and Muslims; or else demagogues may mobilize religions in order to reinforce national fanaticism and hostility. However, this is not to be confused with the true nature and purpose of religion. Christians and Muslims lived alongside each other during the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires, usually supported by their political and religious authorities. In Andalusia Spain, believers in Judaism, Christianity and Islam coexisted peacefully for centuries. Such historical models reveal possibilities for our own pluralistic and globalized world.<\/p>\n

Moreover, any theory about \u201cthe clash of civilizations\u201d is invariably na\u00efve inasmuch as it oversimplifies differences between peoples, cultures and religions. How ironic that religion promotes a more \u201cliberal\u201d position than the \u201crealism\u201d of a political scientist! The visit in November 2006 of Pope Benedict XVI to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul was historical not only for relations between the Eastern and Western Churches but also for Christianity and Islam. The then newly-elected Pope continued a tradition established by his predecessors, the late Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, who both visited the Phanar in 1967 and in 1979, respectively.<\/p>\n

We affectionately recall how Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras (1886-1972), an extraordinary leader of profound vision and ecumenical sensitivity, a tall man with piercing eyes, would resolve conflict by inviting the embattled parties to meet, saying to them: \u201cCome, let us look one another in the eyes.\u201d This means that we must listen more carefully, \u201clook one another\u201d more deeply \u201cin the eyes.\u201d As St. Nilus of Ancyra wrote: \u201cYou are a world within the world; look inside yourself and there you will see God in the whole of creation.\u201d Each of us comprises a living icon of the divine Creator. And we are, furthermore, always \u2013 whether we know it or not \u2013 closer to one another in more ways than we are distant from one another; closer than we might ever suspect or even imagine.<\/p>\n

(iii) Opening up to Creation: The Way of the Earth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of icons when it comes to God and creation leads us to our final point. For nowhere is the sense of openness more apparent than in the beauty of Orthodox iconography and the wonder of God\u2019s creation. In affirming sacred images, the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Nicaea, 787) was not primarily concerned with religious art but with the presence of God in the heart, in others and in creation. For icons encourage us to seek the extraordinary in the ordinary, to be filled with the same wonder of the Genesis account, when: \u201cGod saw everything that He made and indeed, it was very good.\u201d (Gen. 1.30-31) The Greek word for \u201cgoodness\u201d is kalos, which implies \u2013 both etymologically and symbolically \u2013 a sense of \u201ccalling.\u201d Icons are invitations to rise beyond trivial concerns and menial reductions. We must ask ourselves: Do we see beauty in others and in our world?<\/p>\n

The truth is that we refuse to behold God\u2019s Word in the oceans of our planet, in the trees of our continents, and in the animals of our earth. In so doing, we deny our own nature, which demands that we stoop low enough to hear God\u2019s Word in creation. We fail to perceive created nature as the extended Body of Christ. Eastern Christian theologians always emphasized the cosmic proportions of divine incarnation. For them, the entire world is a prologue to St. John\u2019s Gospel. And when the Church overlooks the broader, cosmic dimensions of God\u2019s Word, it neglects its mission to implore God for the transformation of the whole polluted cosmos. On Easter Sunday, Orthodox Christians chant:<\/p>\n

Now everything is filled with divine light: heaven and earth, and all things beneath the earth. So let all creation rejoice.<\/p>\n

The principal reason for our visit to the Unites States this month was our hosting of an environmental symposium along the Mississippi River, focusing on its impact on New Orleans; this journey was also a personal pilgrimage after our original visit to New Orleans soon after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The symposium was the eighth in a series of international, inter-faith and inter-disciplinary conferences, which gather scientists and theologians, politicians and journalists, in an effort to raise awareness on regional ecological issues that have a global impact on our world. After all, we are convinced that recalling our minuteness in God\u2019s wide and wonderful creation only underlines our central role in God\u2019s plan for the salvation of the whole world.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opening up to the heart; opening up to the other; and opening up to creation. Our age demands no less than openness from all of us. We hear it stated often that our world is in crisis. Yet, never before in history have human beings had the opportunity to bring so many positive changes to so many people simply through encounter and dialogue. The interaction of human beings and ethnic groups is today direct and immediate as a result of technological advances in the mass media and means of travel. While it may be true that this is a time of crisis, it must equally be underlined that there has also never been greater tolerance for respective traditions, religious preferences and cultural peculiarities.<\/p>\n

The human heart, the other person, and the natural creation each comprise profound icons of the living God. May you always remain open to the heart, to others, and to creation. This is the only way to discern the presence of God in our world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(sigh) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was at Fordham University in New York to receive an award yesterday and give a speech. A number of things jump out. First, a recap. In his post, “The Patriarch, the Enlightenment, and the Environment,” here on the Observer, Fr. Gregory Jensen reminds us that the human heart needs communion with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1784],"tags":[750,1024,45,509,847,160,510,296,48,1025,9],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4253"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4282,"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4253\/revisions\/4282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aoiusa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}