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Reflections on this year’s Message of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for the Protection of the Natural Environment
By Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne PANAGIOTIS KAPODISTRIAS
Every September 1st, as we mark the beginning of the Indiction and the opening of a new ecclesiastical year, the Great Church of Christ calls us to look at the world around us: the earth beneath our feet, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the trees, the animals, the seas — the whole of that creation which God saw as “very good” and entrusted to humankind both as a blessing and as a responsibility. Since 1989, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has dedicated this day to prayer for the protection of the natural environment, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has served this cause with such remarkable consistency that the title “Green Patriarch” has become internationally associated with his ecological witness.
† B A R T H O L O M E W
BY THE MERCY OF GOD
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE–NEW ROME
AND ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH
GRACE, PEACE, AND MERCY
UNTO THE ENTIRE PLENITUDE OF THE CHURCH
FROM THE FASHIONER OF ALL CREATION
OUR LORD AND GOD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST
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Most Reverend and Right Reverend Brother Hierarchs, and blessed children in the Lord,
By the grace of God, the giver of all good things, we enter today into the new ecclesiastical year, honouring and celebrating at its commencement, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, the “Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment.”
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Your Eminence Gintaras Grušas, Archbishop of Vilnius, beloved brother in the Lord,
Your Eminences, Excellencies, Graces,
Reverend Fathers,
Esteemed audience,
Conveying the fraternal blessings of the Church of Constantinople, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to all the participants of the World Apostolic Congress on Mercy, we have a duty, touching upon the agony of divided Christianity and traversing the centuries that accumulated successive wounds upon the body of the Church, to confront reality. If we excavate the historical subsoil, attempting to understand in the end the meaning of reconciliation, we perceive that the division of the Churches was produced chiefly by the transformation of theology itself into state ideology. Suffocatingly trapped was the message of salvation within geographical and political borders. Most frequently degraded is the concept of mercy, perhaps by an imperceptible but deeply rooted habit of the centuries, into a sentimental concession in the field of ecclesiastical geopolitics, into a diplomatic courtesy among hierarchs, losing entirely its radical character. The East and the West, at various historical junctures, required alterity exclusively to define their own identity.
By Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne Panagiotis Kapodistrias,
Vicar General of the Holy Metropolis of Zakynthos
World Environment Day, observed annually on June 5, offers a valuable opportunity to reflect upon the relationship between humanity and the natural world. Our era is characterized by unprecedented scientific and technological achievements, while simultaneously confronting complex environmental challenges that affect both present and future generations. Climate change, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, water and air pollution, the accumulation of waste, and the depletion of natural resources collectively constitute a reality that touches every region of the planet.
By His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden
The
works “Meditations” by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and “Know Thyself” by
Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis are two autobiographical collections of
reflections and life experiences written seventeen centuries apart.
Although
their authors lived in completely different cultural and theological contexts,
and although the works were intended for different audiences, both deal with
the inner life and self-knowledge.
Studying their relationship helps highlight the convergences and divergences between Stoicism and the Orthodox tradition.
Does our life revolve around our fears or around our ability to form loving relationships? This is perhaps one of the most essential questions of our existence as human beings.
Presentation – Analysis: Archpriest of the Ecumenical Throne PANAGIOTIS KAPODISTRIAS
February 2026, at the Vilnius City Hall and the Chodkevičiai Palace in Lithuania. During the international conference “Constantinople and Moscow: Transformations of Ecclesiastical Allegiance and the Impact of Imperial Policy,” His Eminence Elder Metropolitan of Chalcedon Emmanuel delivered a weighty address entitled “The Ecclesiastical and Canonical Meaning of Jurisdictional Changes.” This discourse assumed the character of a theological reflection on the nature of ecclesiastical authority, on the significance of canonical transformations, and above all on the place of the human person within the historical conflicts of Orthodoxy.
CONSTANTINOPLE AND MOSCOW:
TRANSFORMATIONS OF ECCLESIASTICAL ALLEGIANCE AND
THE IMPACT OF IMPERIAL POLICY
Vilnius Town Hall / Chodkevičiai Palace, Vilnius, Lithuania February 2026
+ BARTHOLOMEW
By God’s mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome
and Ecumenical Patriarch
To the Plenitude of the Church
May the grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;
and from us, prayer, blessing, and forgiveness.
Most honorable brother Hierarchs and blessed children in the Lord,
Filled with sacred emotion, we enter once again, by God’s goodwill, into Holy and Great Lent, the arena of ascetic struggle, the time of fasting and repentance, of humility and prayer, of spiritual vigilance and love, with the eyes of our heart directed to the life-giving Cross of the Lord, which guides us all toward Holy Pascha that opens the gates of Paradise to the human race.
By His Eminence Metropolitan Cleopas of Sweden
The parable of the Final Judgment, as it is handed down in the Gospel according to Matthew (25:31–46), constitutes a supreme eschatological text of the New Testament, in which the criterion of salvation and condemnation is clearly defined.
By Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne PANAGIOTIS KAPODISTRIAS
The ecclesiastical crisis in Ukraine remains one of the deepest and most complex ruptures in the contemporary Orthodox world. At the heart of this conflict lies the dispute between the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) — canonically recognized in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate — and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC‑MP), which for decades occupied the sole canonical status in the country.
for Pastoral Health Care
Rhodes 2025
“Accessing Health and Approching the Suffering”
By Archpriest of the Ecumenical Throne PANAGIOTIS KAPODISTRIAS
The course of relations between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Patriarchate of Moscow has been tested repeatedly throughout history, culminating in recent years in developments that have revealed a complex reality in which ecclesiastical diplomacy, theological principles, and geopolitical balances intersect with intensity and instability.
+ B A R T H O L O M E W
By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
to All the Plenitude of the Church
Grace, Mercy and Peace from the Savior Christ Born in Bethlehem
Most honorable Brother Hierarchs,
Beloved children in the Lord,
Having once again been found worthy of reaching the great feast of the Nativity in the flesh of the Son and Word of God, we glorify the “inexpressible and incomprehensible condescension” of the Savior of the human race and Redeemer of all creation from corruption, even as we proclaim with the angels “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill to all people.” [1]
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Your Holiness, Your Beatitudes, Your Eminences, Venerable Hierarchs and Clergy, Representatives of Christian Churches, Communions and Organizations throughout the world,
Brothers and sisters in Christ:
by Fr. Panagiotis Kapodistrias
In 2025, the Christian world marks 1700 years since the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea—a defining moment in the theological formation of the Church. The Council responded to a deep need of the early Christian community: the need for a common language of faith, theological clarity, and spiritual orientation. Nicaea became a lasting point of reference for the Church of its time and for every generation seeking the truth of faith through the living experience of the Church.
By Fr. Panagiotis Kapodistrias
The Apostolic Encyclical In unitate fidei, dated 23 November 2025, was issued on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325 AD). It is a theologically rich, historically grounded, and ecclesiologically oriented document. Pope Leo XIV offers more than a commemorative reflection; he presents a proposal centered on the renewal of faith in the Holy Trinity as a wellspring of life for the Church and for the modern believer.
George Florovsky
The city of Nicaea was selected as the city to host the First Ecumenical Council. Constantinople was to be officially inaugurated only in 330 and hence at the time of the convening of the Council of Nicaea the imperial residence was in Nicomedia, very close to Nicaea. Nicaea — its name comes from the Greek for “victory” — was easily accessible by sea and land from all parts of the empire. The imperial letter convening the council is no longer extant. Eusebius informs us that the emperor sent letters of invitation to the bishops of all countries and instructed them to come quickly — σπεύδειν άπανταχόθεν τους επισκόπους γράμμασι τιμητικοίς πρoκαλoυμεvoς. All expenses were to be paid from the imperial treasury. The number of bishops present has come down to us as 318 — so states Athanasius, Socrates, and Theodoret. An element of mystical symbolism became attached to this number of 318, some seeing in the Greek abbreviation a reference to the cross and a reference to the “holy name of Jesus.” St. Ambrose in his De fide (i, 18) connected the number of 318 with the number of servants of Abraham in Genesis 14:14. The number differs in other accounts. For example, Eusebius gives the number as two-hundred and fifty — πεντηκοντα και διακοσίων αριθμόν . But Eusebius does not include the number of priests and deacons. Arabic accounts from a later period give the number of more than two-thousand bishops. The extant Latin lists of signatures contain no more than two-hundred and twenty-four bishops. There appears to be no reason why the number of 318 is not in fact accurate. If one includes the number of priests, deacons, and others, then the number may have reached two thousand.
+B A R T H O L O M E W
Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch
Address delivered on Acceptance of the Templeton Prize
(New York, September 24, 2025)
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by Rev. Fr. Panagiotis Kapodistrias
At the outset of the 2025–2026 ecclesiastical year, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew issued, from the ever-radiant Phanar, his annual Patriarchal Message for the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Environment. This message, steeped in theological insight and spiritual gravity, reaffirms the responsibility entrusted to all Christians with regard to creation—an essential dimension of faith and an expression of Orthodoxy as right action.
† Bartholomew
By the Mercy of God
Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch
Grace, Peace, and Mercy unto the Plenitude of the Church
From the Fashioner of All Creation
Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ
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On Saturday, August 23, 2025, His All-Holiness attended an Ecumenical Prayer Service as part of the Lutheran Church’s Ecumenical Celebration – Time for God’s Peace – at the Great Church in Stockholm, Sweden. King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson were in attendance.
“Contradictions and Prerequisites of Interreligious Dialogue”
Your Eminences,
Your Excellencies,
Mr. Secretary General,
Distinguished members of the World Council,
Dear friends and colleagues,
Your Eminence, Cardinal Joseph Tobin,
Your Eminence, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America,
Reverend Fathers,
Dear Pilgrims,
Beloved children in the Lord,
With heartfelt joy, we welcome you today to the sacred and historic city of Constantinople – New Rome – as you continue your blessed pilgrimage, “From Rome to New Rome.” Your journey, which leads from the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome to the seat of the Holy Apostle Andrew here in Constantinople, and soon to the ancient city of Nicaea, is a powerful and visible testimony to the Spirit at work in our midst, guiding us along the path of reconciliation, understanding, and unity.
