Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Dr. Jane Goodall at the Templeton Prize Ceremony
The earth groans, but it also hopes. The question is whether we will participate in the song of its pain or in the hymn of its gratitude.
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If the Pope arrived in the United States, we would have seen every detail of his visit in all versions of print, television, digital and social media. That would be big news. Did most of us even know that our own Orthodox world leader, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was in the US for more than two weeks? What a joy to receive him, who prays for us and safeguards the Faith. Having met His All-Holiness six times in my life, from large-scale gatherings to private audiences, I can personally attest to the humility, brilliance, sanctity and sincerity of our shepherd of shepherds.
His visit to the United States this time was not so much for pastoral reasons, but rather to validate and celebrate his life-long efforts on behalf of the ecological, environmental, and anthropological connections to Orthodox Theology. His decades-long message that our love for God should be evident in our love for the environment was cemented in history with his nomination and reception of the most prestigious award possible at the intersection of Theology and Science – The Templeton Prize.
Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople received the 2025 Templeton Prize at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday, September 24, becoming the first leader of an Orthodox Church to receive the award. The prize, worth approximately $1.4 million, recognizes individuals who bridge religion and science while advancing spiritual understanding.
The ceremony was attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who first dubbed Bartholomew the “Green Patriarch” in 1997. In his acceptance speech, the Patriarch emphasized the interconnection between environmental and spiritual responsibility.
“The God who breathed stars and humans into being is the same God who grieves when a single sparrow falls, when a coral reef bleaches white as bone, and when a child gasps for clean air,” Patriarch Bartholomew stated, noting that the award belongs not to him personally but to the ecumenical vision served by the Patriarchate for decades.
The Patriarch traced the Orthodox Church’s environmental commitment to 1989, when his predecessor Patriarch Demetrios established September 1 as a day of prayer for the protection of creation. He called for reuniting science and faith, comparing a physicist studying glacier acceleration to a theologian reading about “the groans of creation” in the Apostle Paul’s writings as “two people reading the same book in different languages.”
In his address, His All-Holiness criticized religious communities that embraced “conspiracy theories” during the COVID-19 pandemic and condemned those who limit themselves to “words of faith” without action. He emphasized the connection between consumerist greed and environmental destruction, proposing ascetic practices as a “joyful discipline” that heals excess and restores harmony. He also expressed concern for young people’s “existential anxiety about the environment,” calling this a “moral failure” of older generations, and stressed that environmental protection requires social justice, stating “we cannot heal the planet without healing our relationships with each other.”
The Patriarch concluded his speech by stating: “The earth groans, but it also hopes. The question is whether we will participate in the song of its pain or in the hymn of its gratitude.”
The Templeton Prize has been awarded annually since 1972 to individuals including Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Francis Collins. The $1.4 million award supports the recipient’s ongoing work and initiatives.
During his visit, he also met with President Trump and President Zelensky of Ukraine.
As Greek Orthodox Christians, we can take great joy in the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch is not only a man of principle, vision, and dignity, but sees creation, in all its glory, in all its diversity, and in all its grandeur through the prism of its delicate balance. God Grant Him Many Years!
With Love in Christ,
Fr. Anthony Savas
Protopresbyter