On the eve of the holiday
season, Bartholomew I delivered a major address before an highly
qualified audience from the Orthodox world, defending the Ecumenical
Patriarchate’s choice for inter-faith dialogue.
"We will insist on dialogue, despite the criticism that we suffer," he said. "There
is, unfortunately, a certain religious fundamentalism, a tragic
phenomenon, which can be found among Orthodox and Catholics, among
Muslims and Jews. These are people who think they alone
have the right to exist on earth, almost as if they alone have the right
to rule on this our planet according to the Old Testament. And they say there is no room for anyone else, and are therefore opposed to any dialogue. "
The Patriarch continued: "We are subject to criticism and
attack because we maintain relations with the Pope (because we are
strong supporters of the ecumenical dialogue between Orthodox and
Catholics), with Islam and the Jewish world. But we will
continue to move forward on our journey, according to the path laid by
our predecessors, well aware of our actions, regardless of the
criticisms of which we are object. These fringes, characterized by extreme positions, are everywhere. It
is therefore natural that we suffer their criticisms, according to
their ideological dictates, all of us who try to widen our horizons and
have a theological view of things. Because we want the peaceful coexistence of all, based on the principles of charity and friendship. "
Bartholomew I added: "This is the credo of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate and I want to remember that in 1920 the regent of the
patriarchal see, along with the synod, had addressed to Catholics and
Protestants an encyclical, called 'The community of churches', along the
lines of the newly created 'society of nations'. That encyclical is considered today by the World Council of Churches as the 'Charter' of the ecumenical movement of our time. This is a well known fact to insiders, and it is good that it should be made as widely known to as many people as possible”.
Then Bartholomew I went on to highlight:
"With regard to interreligious dialogue, it is our belief and our creed.
Because we need to know each other better, to work together while
respecting the religious beliefs of others, their cultural identity,
without oppression. This is the only way to live in peace.
For this reason, the Patriarchate, in addition to having a dialogue with
other Churches and Christian denominations, has established over the
past 25 years a dialogue with Islam and Judaism. We have had several
successful meetings. With the Muslims and Jews, our
brothers, we do not discuss purely theological issues as it would be
difficult. But we talk about social issues, social issues that effect
all people, all humanity, all over the world. "
Ecology has been one of the favorite themes of the Ecumenical Patriarchate since 1989.
The
Patriarch said: "Everything that we try to do, we do because we believe
it is our duty, because the Church should be actively present in the
contemporary world and be sensitive to people's problems, raise
awareness and encourage them to love and protect nature like their own homes".
He added: "The environment, nature, is God's creation and do not belong only to us who live today in 2010. They belong to all future generations. "
Bishop Dositheos spokesman for the Patriarchate, commented on the Patriarch’s homily for AsiaNews,
"a certain confusion prevails in some sectors of the Orthodox Christian
world between the two terms, tradition and traditionalism. Tradition,
to which those minorities often refer, is the ongoing search to
interpret and understand the truth, while traditionalism which
essentially belong to these minorities, is an intellectual sterility
which often is identified with nationalism in the Orthodox world”.
SIC: AN/INT'L