Global Initiatives of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Peace, Reconciliation, and Care for Creation
Edited by John Chryssavgis
Notre Dame, 112 pages, $30
Review by Richard Mammana
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, born in 1940, assumed his office as first among equals of all Orthodox bishops in 1991. He is now the longest-serving Patriarch of Constantinople, reckoned as 270th holder of that see since its establishment by St. Andrew the Apostle in A.D. 38. He has served in his role through the tenures of three popes and three archbishops of Canterbury.
Known widely as the “Green Patriarch” because of his commitment to ecology as a necessary expression of Christian theology, Patriarch Bartholomew is fluent in six languages in addition to his native Greek. Wide reading in ancient and modern theological literature in English, Turkish, Italian, Latin, French, and German is a key aspect of his engagement with the modern word in an outward-facing way that nevertheless is rooted in striking continuity with patristic writings. His familiarity with non-Orthodox and even non-Christian thought is another enriching dimension of his vision, and a part of the reason for his lifelong commitment to many forms of ecumenism, as well as peaceful interreligious relations.
This timely collection brings together 11 joint statements by Bartholomew with other leaders drawn from world Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Anglicanism on topics as diverse as creation care, religious duties on COVID-19, human rights, the crisis of transnational migration, war, and relationships between and among particular churches. He writes in a consistent register that drives home his care for the well-being of all parts of the global community in a common family.
What is most helpful about this volume is that it brings into a durable print format ecumenical common statements that in a previous era might have been scattered in theological journals or offprints, but are now only available on ephemeral websites from disparate authorities, and possibly in inelegant translations from original languages.
Editor John Chryssavgis — the patriarch’s adviser on ecumenical concerns — has captured an era in the thought of the Ecumenical Throne for English-speakers in one attractive and accessible book. This is all the more important because Constantinople is an articulate Orthodox voice for peace while two of the largest Orthodox countries, Russia and Ukraine, are at lasting war with one another. The zeal of Bartholomew to speak at this time in his own different, international authority gives him a right to the brotherly correction he exercises geopolitically, as well as to the paternal teaching he gives to all of his readers.
Richard Mammana is a lay church historian, author, beekeeper, father, husband, and communicant of S. Clement’s Church, Philadelphia. He serves as archivist of The Living Church Foundation and launched Anglicanhistory.org in 1999.
