indiction day 2010
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Hong Kong, September 1st, 2010
Press Release
Photo: His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew holds baby lambs.
Indiction Day
! Since1992theSynodofallOrthodoxPatriarchsandPrimates,calledbyHisallHolinessEcumenicalPatriarchBartholomewatthePhanarinConstantinople,endorsed1Septemberas
adayofpan-Orthodoxprayerfortheenvironment.
Unfortunately, we tend to forget our connection to the earthand our environment.There is a binding unityand continuity thatwesharewith all ofGodscreation. Inrecentyears,wehavebeenremindedofthistruthwithJloraandfaunaextinction,withsoilandforestclearance, andwith noise, air and waterpollution. Concern for the environment is not an
expression of superJicial or sentimental love. It is a way of honoring and dignifying our
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creation by the hand and word of God. It is a way of listening to the groaning ofcreation(Rom.8.22).
Wetendtocallthiscrisisanecologicalcrisis,whichisafairdescriptioninsofarasitsresultsaremanifestedintheecologicalsphere.Yet,thecrisisisnotJirstofallecological.Itisacrisis concerning thewayweperceivereality, thewayweimagineorimageourworld.Wetreatourplanetinaninhuman,god-forsakenmannerpreciselybecauseweseeitinthisway,preciselybecauseweseeourselves in thisway. EcumenicalPatriarchBartholomewoffers arefreshing,alternativewayofseeingourselvesinrelationtothenaturalworld.
Asareligiousleader,theEcumenicalPatriarchsinitiativestoprotecttheenvironment
areworthy of emulation. Hisworldview, derived from the ancient values of the OrthodoxChurch,deservesattention.
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MessageofHisallHolinessEcumenicalPatriarchBartholomewforIndictionDay.
BARTHOLOMEWBythemercyofGod
ArchbishopofConstantinople,NewRomeandEcumenicalPatriarch
GraceandpeaceuntothePlenitudeoftheChurchFromtheFashionerofAllCreation
OurLordandGodandSavioresusChrist
BelovedChildreninLord,
Ourever-memorablepredecessor, thelatePatriarchDemetrios,whopossessedadeep
awarenessofthegravityof the environmentalcrisis, as well asofthe responsibility ofthe
Churchtodirectlyandeffectivelyconfrontthecrisis,issuedtheJirstofJicialencyclicaldealing
with the protectionof thenatural environment more than two decades ago. Through this
encyclical, theMotherChurchofJiciallyestablishedthedateofSeptember1st,-thebeginning
oftheecclesiasticalyear-asadayofprayerfortheprotectionoftheenvironment,declaringit
totheplenitudeoftheChurchthroughoutthelengthandbreadthoftheworld.
Atthattime,ourChurchinsightfullyemphasizedthesigniJicanceoftheeucharisticand
ascetic ethosofour tradition, thatmanifests our most important andmost crucial unique
contribution toward the proper and universal struggle for the protection of the natural
environment as a Divine Creation and shared inheritance. Today, in the midst of an
unprecedented Jinancial crisis, humanity is facingmany and diverse trials. But this trial is
relatednotonlyto our individualhardships;this trial affectseveryaspectofhumansociety,
especiallyourbehavior andperceptionof thesurroundingworldandthewaywerankour
valuesandpriorities.
Itisimportanttonotethat thecurrentgrievousJinancial crisismaysparkthemuch-
reported and absolutely essential shift to environmentally viable development; i.e., to a
standard of economic and social policy whose prioritywill be the environment, and not
unbridledJinancialgain.Letusallconsiderasanexamplewhatmayhappentocountriesthat
aresufferingtodayonaccountoftheJinancialcrisisandpoverty,suchasGreece,whichatthe704 Universal Trade Center, 3 Arbuthnot Road, Hong Kong-Tel: (00852) 25738328-Fax: (00852) 25738379
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same time have exceptional natural riches: unique ecosystems, rare fauna and Jlora andnatural resources, exquisite landscapes, abundant sunlight and wind. If ecosystems
deteriorate and disappear, natural sources become depleted, and landscapes suffer
destruction, andclimatechangeproducesunpredictableweatherconditions, onwhat basis
willtheJinancialfutureofthesecountriesandtheplanetasawholedepend?
Wehold, therefore, that thereis a direneedinour dayforacombinationofsocietal
sanctionsandpoliticalinitiatives,suchthatthereisapowerfulchangeindirection,toapathof
viableandsustainableenvironmentaldevelopment. ForourOrthodoxChurch,theprotectionoftheenvironment,asadivineandverygood
creation, embodies agreatresponsibilityforeveryhumanperson, regardlessofmaterial or
Jinancial beneJits. The direct correlation of theGod-given duty andmandate, to work and
preserve,witheveryaspectofcontemporarylifeconstitutestheonlywaytoaharmoniousco-
existencewitheachandeveryelementofcreation, andtheentiretyofthenaturalworldin
general.
Therefore,wecall uponallofyou, belovedbrethrenandchildren intheLord, totake
partinthetitanicandrighteousbattletoalleviatetheenvironmentalcrisis,andtopreventthe
evenworseresultsthatderivefromitsconsequences.Letusmotivateourselvestoharmonize
ourpersonalandcollectivelifeandattitudeswith theneedsofnatures ecosystems, sothat
every kindof faunaand Jlorain theworld andin the universemay liveand thrive andbe
preserved.
September1st,2010YourbelovedbrotherinChristandferventsupplicantbeforeGod,
+BARTHOLOMEWofConstantinople
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In Chinese:
,Demetrios,
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