Patriarch Bartholomew calls for global ecological solidarity

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical year and the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment on 1 September with a message describing the ecological crisis as "a crisis of human freedom, of our religion and philosophy, of our ethos and our culture." He called on humanity to build a shared "body of common fundamental values" rooted in solidarity.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate established the observance in 1989. Each year, more churches across the Christian world have taken it up, and the patriarch called this growth "a symbol and practical promotion of the unity of Christians."

"Humanity must at last cease acting as though it does not know and definitively cast aside the illusion that planet Earth can in perpetuity withstand the burdens and destruction caused by human activity, or that nature has the power to renew itself of its own accord," the patriarch said. He called for "ecological responsibility" to be treated as "a categorical imperative," from the personal level to the global.

The dominant model of human behaviour, he warned, is exemplified by the Gospel’s "foolish rich man" (Luke 12:17–21): it drives what he termed "geocide," consumerism, and the exploitation of nature for economic and geopolitical gain. In its place, he called for a "Copernican Turn" in how humanity understands progress and its relationship with creation.

For the World Council of Churches (WCC), 1 September opens this year’s Season of Creation, themed "Living Water" and drawn from the Book of Ezekiel (47:9, 12). Running through 4 October, the season is part of the WCC’s Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action (2025–2034), bringing together prayer and advocacy for water stewardship and climate justice worldwide.

Read the message here

Season of Creation 2026: Living Water

WCC to join Season of Creation prayer amid climate extremes (News Release, 26 August)