161 Iz virni znans tv eni članek/ Article (1.01) Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly 82 (2022) 1, 161—170 Besedilo pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:07/2021; spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:09/2021 UDK/UDC: 271-1:574 DOI: 10.34291/B V2022/01/ Japundzic © 2022 Japundžić, CC B Y 4.0 Antun Japundžić The Ecological Efforts of the ,Green Patriarch‘ Ekološka prizadevanja ,zelenega patriarha‘ Abstract : The E cumenic al P a triar ch of Cons t an tinople, Bartholome w , s t art ed v er y early t o deal with the issues of ec ology and he also eng ag ed in man y diff er en t activities en twined with ec ology and en vir onmen t pr ot ection. In this ar ea of p u b l i c activi ty , o n e c an cl earl y o b ser v e th e c o n tin u i ty o f en d ea v o u r s o f th e p a- triar ch Bartholomew , who has shown in t er es t in the field of en vir onmen t al pr eser v a tion when he w as an associa t e of the pa triar ch Deme trius. This in t er - es t in ec ology bec ame e v en mor e e viden t when he c on tinued t o w ork in this ar ea a ft er b ei ng el ect ed as p a tri ar ch . Barth ol ome w r ec ogn i sed th e ec ol ogi c al necessities, and he uses diff er en t w a y s t o in vit e and enc our ag e the other s t o de v elop acumen and sensitivity t o w ar d the c ar e f or the en vir onmen t wher e w e liv e, alw a y s accen tua ting tha t this is a c all t o which w e all ar e in vit ed t o r e- spond, tha t the emer g ence of the ec ologic al crisis is a r esponsibility of e v er y - one. Due t o his man y e ff orts in the ar ea of ec ology , Bartholome w w as giv en the title of the ,gr een pa triar ch ‘ . Keywords : ec ology , orthodo x theology , ,gr een pa triar ch ‘ , Cons t an tinople, ecumen- ic al, Bartholome w Povzetek: K ons t an tinopelski ali ek umenski pa triarh Bart olomej se je ek ologiji z ačel pos v eč a ti z elo z g odaj. Vključen je v r azlične deja vnos ti, po v e z ane z ek ologijo in v ar s tv om nar a v e. Na t em podr očju ja vneg a delo v anja je v priz ade v anjih pa tri- arha Bart olomeja, ki se je z a ohr anjanje nar a v e z animal ž e, k o je bil pomočnik pa triarha Deme trija, mog oče opaziti jasno k on tinuit e t o. Z animanje z a ek ologi - jo je pos t alo še vidnejše po njeg o vi iz v olitvi z a pa triarha – Bart olomej je pr epo- znal nujnos t z a v z e manja z a e k ologijo. P r i t e m upor ablja r azlične načine , s k a t e - rimi drug e ljudi v abi, spodbuja k r az vijanju z a v es ti, občutljiv os ti in skrbnos ti z a ok olje, v k a t er em živimo. V sesk o zi poudarja, da gr e z a klic, na k a t er eg a smo po v abljeni odg o v oriti v si – poja v ek ološk e kriz e je odg o v ornos t v sak og ar . Z ar a- di njeg o vih š t e vilnih priz ade v anj na podr očju ek ologije se je Bart olomeja prijel v z de v ek ,z eleni pa triarh ‘ . Ključne besede: ek ologija, pr a v osla vna t eologija, ,z eleni pa triarh ‘ , K ons t an tinopel, ek umenski, Bart olomej 162 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 1 1. Introduction The ec ologic al crisis and en vir onmen t pr ot ection ar e t opics tha t enc ompass the e n tir e humanity , and all shar e the r esponsibility f or the habit a t in which the y liv e, and w e also c arr y the bur den f or its pr eser v a tion. Ha ving this in mind, in t er es t i n ec o l ogy i ssu es al so i n cl u d es d i ff er en t sci en tific ar eas wh i ch s tri v e t o p r eser v e the en vir onmen t in which humanity dw ells. Ther e f or e, eng ag emen t in the field of ec ology withi n the in t er di sci plinar y appr oach bl un tl y sho w s the seriousness of the pr oblem with which humanity has t o deal with. One c an assert tha t c on t em - po r ar y ec ol ogy »i s one of th e mos t ch ar act eri s tic e xp r essi ons of hu man i n t er es t c oncen tr a t ed on pr actic al g oal s« (Bartholome w 2012a, 65). The gr a vity of ec olo - gy issues and ec ologic al pr oblems is a poin t of in t er es t e v en f or the E cumenic al P a triar ch of Cons t an tinople, Bartholome w . The pa triar ch Bartholome w is one of the mos t pr ominen t adv oc a t es of en vir onmen t pr eser v a tion who c omes fr om the w orld of Orthodo x theologians. F or this r eason, in the r es t of the article, w e will tr y t o e xplor e mor e closely his activities in the ar ea of ec olog y , primarily b y e x a- mining some of the k e y elemen ts of his theologic al endea v our s. 2. The Activities of the Ecumenical Patriarch It is a w ell-known f act tha t the E cumenic al P a triar cha t e is an honor ar y title f or the pa triar cha t e of Cons t an tinople. Ther e f or e, b y using the title of the ,E cume- nic al P a triar cha t e ‘ one in t ends t o s ymbolic ally poin t out the pr ecedence of the pa triar cha t e of Cons t an tinople among the other Orthodo x pa triar cha t es. One c an also fr eely claim tha t the pr esen t pa triar ch of the E cumenic al P a triar cha t e of Cons t an tinople , Bar tholom e w s t ands out f or som e of his e nde a v our s, and our a t - t en tio n wi l l f o cu s o n th ese, th a t i s, th e ec o l o gi c al activi ties o f th i s p a tri ar ch . W e w ill not e xpound on his biog r aph y or pr e se n t all the e n t e r pr ise s and initia tiv e s he c omple t ed as a pa triar ch. Ne v ertheless, w e in t end t o sho w his activity in the field o f ec o l o gy b ec au se i t w as e x actl y h i m t o b e th e fi r s t amo n g th e p a tri ar ch s t o d eal with this pr oblem which c oncerns the lif e of e v er y one. In the c on t e x t of e ff orts tha t deal with the assertion of Orthodo x theologians dealing with ec ology , it is de finit ely necessar y t o men tion his in t er es t in en vir on - men t al issues e xpr essed b y the E cumenic al P a triar cha t e. It is a ma tt er of f act tha t, within the ecumenic al pa triar cha t e, the in t er es t in the activities c onnect ed with ec ology and en vir onmen t al issues w as s timula t ed b y the article writt en b y the Americ an his t orian L ynn Whit e back in 1967. (Whit e 1967, 1203–1207; Zizioulas 2013, 63–64). Fr om this period , w e c an clearly discern diff er en t e ff orts made b y this pa triar cha t e in the field of ec ologic al challeng es. »Whe ther w e ar e speaking about ec onom y or ec ology , fr om the per spectiv e of the E cumenic al P a triar cha t e it is import an t t o r ec ogniz e tha t this w orld is our ‚home ‘ – which is pr ecisely wha t the Gr ee k r oot oikos, or the pr e fix eco -, implies. This w orld is the home of e v er y - one and of all cr ea tion.« (Bartholome w 2010, 67) The c ar e f or pr eser ving the cr e- 163 Antun Japundžić - The Ecological Efforts of the ,Green Patriarch‘ a tion is mos t sur ely one of the pa triar ch Bartholome w ’ s main and cen tr al activities ( C h r y ss a v gi s 2018, 186) . T h i s f act wi l l b e accen tu a t ed l a t er o n d i ff er en t o cc asi o n s b y the pa triar ch Bartholome w himself: »f or man y y ear s no w , the Orthodo x E cu- menic al Thr one has dev ot ed itself t o the ser vice of pr ot ection of the en vir on- men t.« (Bartholome w 2012e, 111) This type of e ff ort will be especially visible in a specific w a y during the period of his ser vice as the pa triar ch of Cons t an tinople. 2.1 ,The Green Patriarch‘ Alr eady one mon th a ft er he w as elect ed as pa triar ch, in Ma y of 1991, he s t art ed t o deal with the ec ologic al issues and launched sev er al initia tiv es in this ar ea. Ho w e v er , a cert ain in t er es t in the field of en vir onmen t pr ot ection and some v en- tur es in this ar ea e xis t ed e v en be f or e he w as elect ed as pa triar ch (Mar os 2017, 151–157). P articular in t er es t and c ar e f or the en vir onmen t b y the E cumenic al P a- triar ch Bartholome w c an be tr ace d fr om 1968 whe n the E cume nic al P a tr iar cha t e w as led b y the pa triar ch Deme trius, a pr edecessor of the pa triar ch Bartholome w (Chr y ssa v gis, 2007, 10; Mar os, 2017, 151). In this w a y , one c an ob ser v e the appea - r ance of a de fined ec ologic al vision, as the initia tiv es and v en tur es of the pa triar ch Bartholome w r each as f ar as the period when he w as not elect ed as the pa triar ch, all the w a y t o 1986, when he or g anised the Pr e-S ynod P an-Orthodo x Con f er ence in Chambés y , fr om Oct ober 28 th till No v ember 6 th 1986 (Chr y ssa v gis 2012b, 4). P a triar ch Deme trius published on Sep t ember 1 st 1989 the ency clic al, wher e, a t the beginning of the ne w litur gic al y ear , he enc our ag ed pr a y er f or the pr ot ection and pr eser v a tion of the en vir onmen t and all of cr ea tion (Dim itrios 2012, 23–25). In this w a y , near the end of the ser vice of the E cumenic al P a triar ch Deme trius, and be f or e the s t art of the office of his heir , the Holy S ynod in Cons t an tinople had declar ed Sep t ember 1, 1989, the Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (Gna vi 2016, 17). This will pr o v e t o be v er y import an t, not only f or the P a triar cha t e of Cons t an tinople but also f or the whole of Orthodo xy . Wha t happened w as tha t la t er (in 1991), this Da y w as ackno wledg ed b y all the Orthod o x chur ches, and in this pr ocess, the E cumenical P a triar ch Bartholomew pla y ed a significan t r ole (Chr y ssa v gis 2013, 154; Gna vi 2016, 17). In this manne r , c ar e f or cr e a tion and the r esponsibility f or the en vir onmen t in which humanity liv es w as demons tr a t ed b y the Orthodo x chur ches. F u rth ermo r e, l e t u s men tio n h er e th a t th e ecu men i c al p a tri ar ch Barth o l o me w g ained numer ous import an t r ec ognitions bec ause of his acc omplishmen ts and r esults in the ec ologic al field. Aft er all, the E cumenic al P a triar ch Bartholome w r eceiv ed the v er y title of the ,gr een pa triar ch ‘ e x actly bec ause of his initia tiv es and e ff orts c onduct ed in the ar ea of pr eser v a tion of na tur e. This title w as f or - mal l y gr an t ed t o hi m i n 1997 i n the Uni t ed S t a t es of Ameri c a i n the Whi t e House, and this is jus t one of the man y signs of r ec ognition and ackno wledg emen t of his e ff orts and initia tiv es in the field of ec ology (Chr y ssa v gis 2012b, 4–15). The pr esen t E cumenic al P a triar ch Bartholome w , who has tr a v elled mor e than an y other Orthodo x pa triar ch (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 218), fr om the v er y beginning of 164 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 1 his ser vice, w as v er y activ e in this field of public pr esence, mainly bec ause of his e ff orts r eg ar ding the pr ot ection of the en vir onmen t in which humanity dw ells. As w as said, due t o his activities and c ommitmen t t o the c ar e of cr ea tion, he w as named the ,gr een pa triar ch ‘ (Gna vi 2016, 16–17). 1 It is meaningful t o ob ser v e tha t in this c on t e x t, the Head of the Departmen t f or Orthodo x theology of the John P aul II E cumenic al Ins titut e of the Univ er sity in Lublin, K rz y s zt of Leśnie w ski, speak s about the ,gr een v oc a tion ‘ of the pa triar ch Bartholome w , poin ting out the par - ticular c on tributions of the ,gr een pa triar ch ‘ and his e ff orts in r ela tion t o en vir on- men t pr ot ection (Leśnie w ski, 2011, 34–37). 2.2 Ecological Initiatives and Efforts Le t us men tion her e some of the not able activities of the pa triar ch Bartholome w tha t in v olv e his solicitude in ec ologic al issues, all those initia tiv es and en t erpri- ses tha t he has undert ak en, and whi ch ar e c onnect ed with ec ologi c al ar gumen ts. A s e ar ly as 1 9 9 1 , only a m on th a ft e r be ing e le c t e d as pa tr iar c h, on the island of Cr e t e, he or g anised a lectur e on the t opic c oncerning ec ology (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 169–171). In his pos t erior activities pa triar ch Bartholomew or g anised c our ses and c on f er ence s on the theme s in t er w o v en with ec ology . In the c on t e x t of men- tioning ec ologic al activities, le t us add tha t pa triar ch Bartholome w ’ s c on tribution t o the W orld Council of the Chur ches is also w ell-kno wn (Mar os 2017, 169–174). He also initia t e d the or g anisa tion of the e c ologic al summe r c our se s in the Hal- ki School of Theology , which w er e held e v er y y ear during the summer in the pe- riod fr om 1994 till 1998. Ther e w er e fiv e summer c our ses on Halki tha t w er e held in t ot al, and the themes w er e: ‚ The En vir onmen t and R eligious E duc a tion ‘ , ‚ The En vir onmen t and E thics ‘ , ‚ The En vir onmen t and Communic a tion ‘ , ‚ The En vir onmen t and Jus tice ‘ , and ‚ The En vir onmen t and P o v erty ‘ (Chr y ssa v gis 2012b, 4–15; Mar os 2017, 155). It seems tha t his e ff orts w er e positiv ely r eceiv ed and tha t the g en- er al r eception w as also affirma tiv e, a f act which is c orr obor a t ed by numer ous a w ar ds and r ec ognitions tha t w er e gr an t ed t o him (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 170–171). One should e spe c ia lly e m phasiz e t he s y m posium s about w a t e r , w hic h w ill be elabor a t ed on in mor e de t ail la t er on bec ause the y ar e e xtr emely import an t in pa triar ch Bartholome w ’ s o v er all ec ologic al e ff orts. The men tioned s ymposiums w er e v er y w ell per ceiv ed e v en b y the wider public and the media (f or e x ample, the New York Times, the BBC, the Independent, e t c.) (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 180). This is the r e ason wh y , in 1994, on the initia tiv e of the E cume nic al P a triar ch, w e c ould wi tn ess th e f o u n d a tio n o f th e R el i gi o u s an d S ci en tifi c Co mmi tt ee, an i n s titu tio n tha t ser v ed P a triar ch Bartholome w as a c onduit t o or g anise eigh t s ymposiums dedic a t ed t o riv er s and seas (Mar os 2017, 155–157). 1 In this sense the It alian author Mar c o Gna vi, in the pr e f ace of the book Una casa chiamata terra, claims tha t the E cumenic al P a triar ch Bartholome w: »is univ er sally kno wn f or his c ommitmen t f or en vir onmen t pr ot ection, and ther e f or e deser v es the title of the ›gr een‹ pa triar ch.« (Chr y ssa v gis, 2007, 9–18; Chr y s - sa v gis 2017; Gna vi, 2016, 16–17; Leśnie w ski, 2011, 33–48) 165 Antun Japundžić - The Ecological Efforts of the ,Green Patriarch‘ 3. The Preservation of Water as the Source of Life In his r ole as the main spiritual authority of the E cumenic al P a triar cha t e, pa tri- ar ch Bartholome w oft en in vit es and enc our ag es other s t o uphold and c ar e f or the pr ot ection of the en vir onmen t and he also accen tua t es the r ole of r eligion in the w orld e v en ts (Bartholome w 2015). Among man y things, pa triar ch Bartholome w poin ts out: »W e ar e c alled t o w ork in humble harmon y with cr ea tion and not in ar r og an t supr e m ac y ag ains t it.« (2 0 1 2 g , 9 7 ) Ho w e v e r , he is also w e ll a w ar e tha t r eligion c annot r esolv e the pr oblems of ec ology and the pending en vir onmen - t al crisis without science. Hence, he has endea v our ed t o r ealise his plans and e ff orts c onnect ed with the c ar e f or the en vir onmen t b y c ooper a ting with plen ti- ful and v arious scien tis ts. Ther e f or e, it is imper a tiv e tha t e v er ybody acts in their r espectiv e field of s tudy t o sa f eguar d the en vir onmen t in which humanity dw ells (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 173). This w as the r eason wh y pa triar ch Bartholome w , within the pr oject named „R eligion, Science and En vir onmen t “ , or g anises s ymposiums c oncerning w a t er . These s ymposiums w er e r emember ed mainly bec ause a hos t of scie n tis ts, the ologians, politicians and man y othe r s ha v e fr uitfully participa t e d in them (171–172). The s ymposiums about w a t er w er e held in the period fr om 1995 t o 2009 (172– 180). It is in t er es ting t o obser v e tha t pa triar ch Bartholomew did not choose by ac- ciden t the said t opic r eg ar ding w a t er . Mor eov er , he initia t ed and inspir ed all the or - g anisa tions pr ecisely dedic a t ed t o this t opic, t o wit about w a t er as the sour ce of lif e. In this w a y , John Chry ssa v gis, in his r ole as the theologic al advisor of the E cumenic al P atriar chate f or en vir onment al issues, interpr ets the or g anisation of the s ymposiums dedicated to w ater in terms of patriar ch Bartholomew ’ s per sis tence, considering that the pa triar ch is c on vinced tha t »the de f ence of the en vir onmen t mak es an in t egr al part of his minis try as a pries t« (174) and tha t this is the c on t e xt and spirit in which the pa triar ch acts acc or ding t o the purpose of en vir onmen t pr eser v a tion. In this manner , with the initia tiv e of pa triar ch Bartholome w and the sponsor - ship of Ms. Maria Be ck e t, signific an t s ymposiums about w a t e r w e r e he ld, de aling with the pendin g issues of the w orld w a t er s y s t ems (Mar os 2017, 169). Con t em - por ar y manag emen t of w a t er once ag ain demands the e xpansion of the c oncep t o f e th i cs o f ec o l o gy , th e c ar e f o r w a t er , r esp o n s i b l e an d r a ti o n al u s ag e o f w a t er , e t c. (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 172). In this c on t e xt pa triar ch Bartholome w poin ts out: »W a t er should ne v er be r eg ar ded as priv a t e pr operty or bec ome a t ool or purpose of per sonal in t er es ts.« (172) Ho w e v er , r a tional spending and r esour ce usag e ar e not c onnect ed t o w a t er alone: »The r a tionalism of this utilit arian men t ality is per - hap s the only ans w er tha t ec ologis ts c an pr o vide t o this ques tion.« (Bartholome w 2012a, 66) It is import an t t o ha v e a c onscience about the limit ed and r a tional c onsump tion of g oods and na tur al r esour ces. In this sense, »E c ologi s ts demand a limit ed and c on tr olled use of na tur al en vir onmen t, a quan tit a tiv e r eduction tha t will allo w its lon g er use b y hum anity . The y seek a r a tional lim it a tion of our limit - less use of na tur e. Ther e f or e, the y seek a mor e r a tional applic a tion of the r a tional s y s t em tha t is alr eady e xploiting na tur e.« (67) 166 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 1 3.1 The Care for the Preservation of Water The imp ort ance of the initia tiv es and e ff orts tha t r eg ar d the sa f ek eeping of na tu- r e , and also the sig nific anc e of s y m posium s tha t pa t r iar c h Bar tholom e w or g ani- se d, c an be ob se r v e d in the t e s timon y wr itt e n b y one of his close associa t e s John Chr y ssa v gis: »I have personally witnessed and saw the manner in which the pa triar ch Bartholomew , especially during the period of the in t erna tional s ymposium, use d e v e r y oppor t unity t o v isit the loc al Or t hodo x dig nit ar ie s, and t o g e n- tly but also a t the same time decisiv ely obt ain their under s t anding and sup port i n th e c ar e f or th e na tu r al habi t a t. The i n t erna tional s ymposi u m has r eally had a pr actic al and s ymbolic al v alue f or visible unity of the Or - thodo x chur ches.« (2018, 20) When it c omes t o the issue of the c onsider a tion of the E cumenic al P a triar ch f or the pr eser v a tion of w a t er and the r ealisa tion of the s ymposium about w a t er , then one needs, in a special w a y , t o single out the pr e viously men tioned s ymposiums about w a t er tha t w er e held in r ela tion t o the t opic of the s t a tus of the w orld w a t er herit ag e, pa ying a tt en tion t o riv er s and seas. In this w a y , the fir s t in the line of man y s ymposiums, held on the initia tiv e and or g anised by the E cumenic al P a triar ch Bar - tholomew , w as dedica t ed t o the t opic of the Aegean Sea. This s ymposium t ook place in 1995 under the f ollowing heading: „ The Apocalypse and The En vir onment“ . In turn, this w as pr ecisely the t opic tha t initia t ed the v ery series of s ymposiums dedic a t ed t o w at er . The second s ymposium w as continued in Sept ember of 1997 and w as named: „ The Black Sea in Crisis “ (174). The s ymposium about the Black Sea r emained v ery r emark able bec ause of the f act tha t it w as one of the dir ect r esults of the w ork of the Halki Ins titut e of E c ology , which deals with the scien tific e xplor a tion and solving of pr oblems s t emming fr om the pollution of the Black Sea. This s ymposium w as mark ed by the gr ea t c on tribution of this Ins titut e (Bartholome w 2012i, 166–170). One ma y claim that the same topic w as elabor at ed, at leas t in some sort of w a y , even in the thir d s ymposium dedicated to w ater , titled: „ The River of Lif e: fr om the Danube to the Black Sea “ (Chryssa v gis 2018, 174–175). On the occasion of the opening of the thir d s ymposium, loc a t ed in T urk ey , Bartholomew said: »T o ensur e the further ance of na tur al lif e, w e c onsider ascetic self -denial t o be necessary and the r eduction of man y ma t erial pleasur es t o be bene ficial.« (2012b, 79–84) B y c on tinuing t o or g anise s ymposiums about w a t er , pa triar ch Bartholome w adv anced t o r egula t e the f ourth w a t er s ymposium as w ell, wher e the t opic w as the Adria tic Sea. This s ymposium w as c oncluded in V enice in 2002, and its title w as giv en as „ The Adria tic Sea: a Sea a t Risk – Unity of Purpose “ (Chry ssa v gis 2018, 175). One of the import an t fruits of this s ymposium w as the s tipula tion of the Declar a tion be tw een the Holy F a ther P ope John P aul II and His All-Holiness the E cumenic al P a triar ch Bartholome w . This agr eemen t also has an ecumenic al as- pect, and w e ma y claim tha t this declar a tion had mark ed the f ourth s ymposium dedic a t ed t o w a t er . The import ance of this agr eemen t is e v en gr ea t er if one c on - 167 Antun Japundžić - The Ecological Efforts of the ,Green Patriarch‘ side r s tha t it is the fir s t agr e e me n t be tw e e n the le ade r s of the W e s t e rn and E as t - ern Chur ch achie v ed on the t opic of ec ology , e xpr essing the c ar e f or our c ommon home (John P aul II and Bartholome w I., 2002; Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 176). Furthermor e, pa triar ch Bartholome w c on tinued with the s ymposiums c oncern- ing w a t er b y r ealising the fifth one had g a ther ed mor e than 250 participan ts. This S ymposium w as or g anised in 2003, and it w as named „ The Baltic Sea: Common Herit ag e, Shar ed R esponsibility “ (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 176–177). July of 2006 w as the time when the sixth s ymposium r eg ar ding w a t er w as held, titled „ The Riv er Amaz on, Sour ce of Lif e “ . Amaz on is one of the long es t riv er s and also one of the riches t in w a t er supply (Chr y ssa v gis, 2018, 177–178; Benedict XVI., 2006). On th e occ asi o n of th i s s ymp osi u m P a tri ar ch Bartho l o me w , i n h i s h omi l y during the bless ing of the riv er Amaz on, declar ed: »In blessin g the w a t er s of the gr ea t Amaz on, w e pr oclaim our belie f tha t en vir onmen t al pr ot ection is a pr o- f oundly mor al and spiritual pr oblem tha t c oncerns all of us. The initial and crucial r esponse t o the en vir onmen t al crisis f or e v er y one is t o bear per sonal r esponsibil - ity f or the w a y tha t w e liv e, the v alues tha t w e cherish and the priorities tha t w e pur sue.« (Bartholome w 2012f , 283) Not able w as the title of the se v en th s ymposium about the Ar ctic Ocean, titled „ The Ar ctic, Mirr or of Lif e “ (Chr y ssa v gis 2018, 178–179). Las tly , le t us men tion the eigh th, and a t the same time, the final in the series of s ymposiums dedic a t ed t o w a t er , held in Oct ober of 2009, named: „ The Es t ablishmen t of the E quilibrium: the Gr ea t Mississippi“ (179–180). B y looki ng back a t this series of s ymposiums about w a t er , w e ma y notice tha t the y all c on t ained the theme r eg ar ding the main w a t er surf aces of the w orld, tha t is, t he r iv e r s a nd se a s. This sc ie n tific , t he olog ic a l a nd spir it ua l c on t r ibution is de f - init e ly impor t an t in the c on t e mpor ar y e r a, the time of the e c ologic al crisis, and it migh t be said tha t w e ar e all in vit ed t o s t and up f or the pr eser v a tion of cr ea tion. 4. Some Theological Points that Regard Ecology In the spiritual and theologic al c on t e xt, it is import an t t o pinpoin t the r ele v ance of the pr a y er f or the en vir onmen t and ev erything cr ea t ed: »The Chur ch which f or g e ts t o pr a y f or the en vir onmen t is the Chur ch which r e fuses t o off er drink or f ood t o humanity in need.« (Bart olomeo 2016, 64–65) In this c on t e x t, as w e ha v e alr ea- dy men tioned, on 1 st Sep t ember 1989, pa triar ch Deme trios es t ablished the Da y of the Pr ot ection of the En vir onmen t. It is the fir s t da y of the ecclesias tic al y ear , and, a t the same time, it also highligh ts the import ance of pr a y er f or cr ea tion. As he e xplained in his ency clic al, on tha t da y , »w e in vit e thr ough this, Our Messag e f or the en tir e Chris tian w orld, t o off er t og e ther with the Mother Gr ea t Chur ch of Chris t, the E cumenic al P a triar cha t e, e v er y y ear on this da y , pr a y er s and supplic a- tions t o the Mak er of all, both as thank sgiving f or the gr ea t gift of cr ea tion and in pe tition f or its pr ot ection and salv a tion« (Dimitrios 2012, 25). 168 Bogoslovni vestnik 82 (2022) • 1 Looking a t pa triar ch Bartholom e w ’ s theologic al r easoning , w e ma y claim tha t tw o fundamen t al ar gumen ts a tt es t t o his c ar e f or the ec ology . Her e w e ma y fir s t poin t out the cr ea tion issue, wher e e v er y thing tha t w as cr ea t ed belongs t o the L o r d , an d h u man i ty ’ s t ask i s t o t ak e c ar e o f th e cr ea t ed w o rl d . F u rth ermo r e, w e notice tha t God is cr ea ting ag ain in the New Adam and r e turns the ,ancien t beau- ty ‘ (Mar os 2017, 158). 4.1 ,Liturgical‘ and ,ascetic‘ ethos As is the c ase with man y other Orthodo x theologians, pa triar ch Bartholome w also k eep s his o wn biblic al and theologic al pos tula t es which ar e then applied in his theologic al endea v our s (Bartholome w 2012c, 88–89; 2012d 93–95). Mor eo v er , it is fr om his theologic al c on victions tha t he is t aki ng dir ections f or actions t o pr o- t ect the habit a t in which humanity liv es. Ho w e v er , pa triar ch Bartholome w also pr o vides a ne w vision of the w or d b y emphasizing the ‚spirit of Eucharis t ‘ and the ‚asce tic e thos ‘ (Bart olomeo 2016, 72). When speaking about the ec onomic but also the ec ologic al crisis of the modern w orld, and b y in v oking the t eachings of his pr e de c e ssor , pa tr iar c h De m e tr ius, pa tr iar c h B ar t holom e w indic a t e s tha t »our Chur ch insigh tfully emphasiz ed the signific ance of the eucharis tic and ascetic ethos of tr adition« (Bartholome w 2012j, 63). Furthermor e, pa triar ch Bartholome w her e underlined the f act tha t the mona - s tic and asce tic tr aditions ha v e gr ea t import ance and signific ance f or Orthodo x theology when w e ar e t alking about the en vir onmen t and the ec ologic al crisis happening t oda y (2012h, 216–217). In this c on t e x t, the asce tic tr adition also pr o - vides a ne w per spectiv e of self -limit a tion within a s y s t em of sus t ainable living , a f act which actually indic a t es the pot en tial of the ec ologic al w a y of lif e (Theokrit off 2009, 93–116). When r e f erring t o ec ologic al asce tism t oda y , the c on t empor ar y Orthodo x theologian Eliz abe th Theokrit off said: »The asce tic tr adition off er s a r adic ally ne w per spectiv e on self -limit a tion, on the sort of r es trictions on our r an - g e of op tions tha t a sus t ainable w a y of living is lik ely t o demand. Such limit a tions ar e neither a w a y of making our selv es miser able, nor an occ asion t o f eel self -ri- gh t eous.« (113) This is the r eason wh y pa triar ch Bartholome w is c on vinced tha t humanity sho- uld r e turn t o the ,eucharis t ‘ and ,asce tic‘ w a y of lif e, and these notions mus t be s tu d i ed i n th e Ch u r ch , th u s en ab l i n g h u man i ty t o b ec o me e v en mo r e c o n sci o u s and gr a t e ful t o the Lor d f or all of cr ea tion (Bart olomeo 2016, 37–46). In this sen- se, the E cumenic al P a triar ch of Cons t an tinople poin ts out: »W e belie v e tha t b y our unique liturgical and ascetic ethos, the spiritual t eaching of the Orthodo x Chur ch is able t o pr o vide an import an t theor e tic al and deon t ologic al ins truction f or th e c ar e o f o u r p l an e t E arth . « (2012e, 111) In th i s man n er p a tri ar ch Barth ol o - me w c onnects spirituality and the en vir onmen t: emphasizing spiritual v alues in the v er y de finition of en vir onmen t e thics (Leśnie w ski, 2011, 33–34). 169 Antun Japundžić - The Ecological Efforts of the ,Green Patriarch‘ 5. Conclusion In th i s p ap er , al o n g wi th th e r esear ch i t en t ai l s, w e w er e d i r ect ed p ri mari l y t o th e ec ologic al e ff orts of the E cumenic al P a triar ch Bartholome w . This does not r epr e - sen t the t ot al oeuvr e of his w ork and activities, but it ma y pr o vide a ne w per spec- tiv e and vision in c aring f or the sa f ek eeping of the cr ea t ed w orld. One of the k e y t opics in this ar ea is de finit ely w a t er as the sour ce of lif e. In f act, this t opic w as the main theme of eigh t in t erna tional and in t er disciplinar y s ymposiums, which w er e not ed not only in the Orthodo x w orld but also in the br oader global ar ena. This type of r esear ch and the participa tion of v arious scien tis ts in the men tioned s ymposiums open up ne w possibilities f or e v en gr ea t er c ampaigns with man y pe - ople, thus participa ting in the c ar e f or the c onser v a tion of na tur e. References Bartholomew . 2010 . M e s s a ge t o t h e T we l ft h E u r a s i a n Ec o n o m i c S u m m i t , I s t a n b u l , M ay 6 , 20 0 9 . I n : C h r y s s av g i s 201 2 a , 6 6 – 70 . – – – . 201 2 a . 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