Orthodoxy & Creation
The Symposium on the Arctic: Mirror of Life
It is a great privilege to be standing in Greenland’s capital, as a guest of the Home Rule government. For your gracious hospitality, for your help in making our symposium possible, and indeed for your deep understanding of the purpose of our symposium, we offer heart-felt thanks.
The physical environment of your beautiful island is utterly different from the eastern Mediterranean, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been located for the past 17 centuries. There is also an enormous contrast between the silent dignity of the Arctic icefields which surround us now, and the abundance of life in all its forms which we encountered during our last symposium in Brazil.
But by today’s standards, the distance we have traveled is not really so great, and in certain ways, both good and bad ways, that distance is becoming smaller all the time. Modern transport has made it relatively easy for us to make the journey to Greenland, and it is now possible for messages, images and ideas to travel between Greenland and every other part of the world in the twinkling of an eye. Depending on how they are used, these communications can be a blessing or a curse.
In many parts of the world, indigenous cultures have been undermined by seductive images from the supposedly civilized world, propagating the idea that happiness is only to be found in consuming more and more material products. But we have a strong sense that the people of Greenland, and their elected rulers, have avoided such temptations. You are bringing your people some of the practical benefits of modern science and technology, while also holding onto everything that is best in your traditional way of life, including your magnificent tradition of story-telling. In this endeavor, you have our support, our solidarity and our prayers.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was also a great story-teller. He knew that a tale taken from everyday life was often the best way to communicate an important truth. He was once asked “who is my neighbor” –– in other words, who is the person close to me, the person that I am obliged to love and care for? (Luke 10:28) He replied with the story of the Good Samaritan. This is the story of a man who was left wounded on the roadside and only received help from a person of a different race.
What Our Lord described was an act of compassion, an act of closeness, between individuals from sharply different communities, communities which normally kept far apart from one other. The broader point is that a person may seem very far from us by the logic of this world, but in the sight of God, in the light of eternity, that same person can be very close to us indeed, either because we need that person’s help, or because that person needs our help.
For better or worse, we are living in an age when the destinies of all human beings, and all human communities, are ever more closely intertwined. Patterns of behavior and consumption in one corner of the globe can affect the lives and livelihood of people who live at the other extremity of the earth. If the environment of the polar region is now changing at a frightening pace, that is because of economic activities and energy choices in the industrialized world, far to the south. And the alteration in the Arctic environment has the potential to inundate islands in the tropics, or cities as far away as Shanghai or New York. Borrowing a phrase from modern journalism, what we are experiencing is the death of distance. There is no segment of the human race which can hope to isolate itself from the destiny of mankind, and of life on earth in general.
This new proximity, this closeness need not be a bad thing if we learn to read the “signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3). To some degree, we are all drawn closer by a common experience of fear and suffering as the consequences of climate change are felt in different ways. At a time when climatic emergencies of many different kinds are affecting the lives of hundreds of millions of people, we have no moral choice but to “bear one another’s burdens” as the New Testament (Galatians 6:2) enjoins us. Here in the Arctic, melting glaciers are threatening the way of life of traditional hunters. In our home region of southern Europe, we have seen an alarming combination of heat waves, drought, fires and also floods. Scientists inform us that all these phenomena are connected. When we visited Brazil last year, the region was still recovering from a highly unusual drought. Brazilian scientists told us that illegal deforestation was leading to a decrease in rainfall and making fires more common. Fires and deforestation in Brazil are among the many factors which are altering the climate, and hence the environment, here on the northern edge of the earth.
If only we knew how to learn the right lessons, the web of causal connections between extreme events in different parts of the world could have a sobering effect. These linkages ought to bring home to every nation and every community how closely involved it is with every other nation and community. It should now be more obvious than ever that no state or ethnic group or economic class can hope to advance its own interests indefinitely at the expense of the remainder of mankind. To restate a simple truth which has guided all of our floating symposia on Religion, Science and the Environment, we are all in the same boat.
That truth must always have been evident to the people of Greenland. As inhabitants and administrators of this extraordinary island, where the might and mystery of nature, and the smallness of man, is a constantly felt reality, you can see more clearly than most of us how futile it is for one group of human beings to seek unconditional control of the earth by monopolizing its resources. But to judge from the newspapers, there is a real danger now that the people of the polar region could find themselves caught in the middle of an intense competition by outsiders to achieve domination of the Arctic. If such a competition develops, then the best hope of restraining it may lie in the wisdom the Arctic peoples, in their instinctive sense that this awesome landscape cannot, in the end, be monopolized by any one group of human beings.
As administrators of Greenland, you face enormous responsibilities. Perhaps these responsibilities are graver now than at any time in your history. On behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, endowed by history with a special responsibility for the welfare of the whole inhabited earth, and of the scientists, ecologists and opinion-makers who have gathered here from all over the world, we would like to make you a promise. We promise to stand close to you, to pray with you, to be your neighbors. And we ask you to stand close to us.
By the grace of God we have concluded our symposium, and we are now close to the end of our wonderful Greenland journey. With the permission of our beloved Greenland hosts, whose leave should be asked before every public statement in this part of the world, let us offer some reflections on the blessings we have enjoyed and the challenges we now face. As each of us parts company with old and new friends who have accompanied us on this unforgettable voyage, we are conscious that our personal journeys –– as religious leaders, scholars, writers, broadcasters, parents, teachers in every sense –– are recommencing. We will resume those personal journeys with vastly increased vigor and determination thanks to the blessings we have enjoyed here. These blessings include the beauty and hospitality and cultural riches of Greenland and the intellectual gifts that we have received in the course of some intensely stimulating and thought-provoking and often deeply moving discussions. To every single person who wrote and presented papers, shared new ideas or described personal experiences, we express our deep appreciation.
Many of the blessings and benefits of such a symposium are intangible, but it is also important that such an important gathering should have concrete results: on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, it is a pleasure to announce that firm plans now exist to publish the proceedings of this symposium and of the previous two symposia in Brazil and the Baltic Sea.
No earthly endeavour succeeds without the grace of God, but it is also true that no human enterprise succeeds without the contribution of many people, people whose labors or material contributions are often silent or unacknowledged, sometimes by their own humble choice. It is touching to recall that this symposium was finally made possible by some generous donors who prefer to remain anonymous. Let me assure those donors that their names are known to God. May we be worthy of your kindness.
Equally indispensable to the success of this wonderful voyage were the captain and crew of this marvellous ship, whose quiet efficiency and dedication gave us the luxury of sharing information, debating, discussing and exchanging experiences in a comfortable, safe and gloriously beautiful setting. Thanks to them, we relived the truth of the sailors’ Psalm: “They that go down to the sea in ships, and do business in great waters. They have seen the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep” (Psalm 106:23-24). To the crew of this ship, from Norway, the Philippines and other countries, we express our warm thanks, and ask your forgiveness if we were troublesome guests.
Now let me mention a person, and a team, whose labors are similar to an iceberg; they are partially visible, but the invisible part is larger than the visible part. You have all observed some of the extraordinary energy, self-sacrifice, vision and iron determination which has inspired Mrs Maria Becket, who has been the organizer of this symposium, and of six other highly successful symposia in different places. The word “indefatigable” is hardly strong enough to describe the way in which Mrs Becket has labored day and night to make this symposium possible, almost continuously since our previous gathering in Brazil.
Each one of us has lively and often humorous personal memories of cooperation with Mrs Becket in different parts of the world, but let me assure you that most of the things she does are seen by very few people. She tackles crises, overcomes last-minute difficulties, and makes new friends and collaborators in every corner of the world. From the bottom or our hearts, we thank you, we salute you, we acknowledge your Herculean labors.
Mrs Becket is a unique personality, but as she would be the first to remind us, she does not work alone. She has a great gift for discovering and employing the talents of dedicated young helpers who share her vision of dialogue between science and religion, and her enthusiasm for organizing spectacular and inspiring events. These youngsters even do their best to match her physical energy, even though that is impossible. To all the members of the team who worked in Athens and elsewhere to make this symposium possible, our heartfelt gratitude.
Every important event depends on certain human relationships, based on trust, a willingness to work together and take risks for another. Here in Greenland, where life is often dangerous and survival depends on mutual trust and cooperation, that principle is deeply understood. Crucial to the success of this symposium were the relationships of trust and mutual respect that were established between Mrs Becket and her team on one hand, and the administrators and ordinary people of Greenland on the other. To the Greenlandic friends who have been intensely involved in organising and hosting this symposium, and in particular to chief minister Jonathon Motzfeldt, to foreign minister Aleqa Hammond, and to Aqqeluk Lynge who is deservedly regarded as the father of Greenland’s cultural revival, our profoundest thanks. You were more than hosts; you were our guides and teachers, you shared with us the beauty of your land,.its opportunities, its pain and its challenges, you took us to your hearts.
If there is one single message in all the information which we have received during our symposium, it is this: “time is short.”
If there is one single message in all the information which we have received during our symposium, it is this: “time is short.” The ice of the Arctic is shrinking at a frightening pace. That is what we are told by scientists, that is what we are told by Greenlanders who know the ice better than anybody. If all the ice in Greenland melts, the consequences both for Greenland and the world as a whole could be devastating: a Biblical catastrophe in the most literal sense. Some scientists tell us that we have 10 years or less to limit the emission of greenhouse gases and hence limit the extent of global warming. So humanity does not have the luxury of quarreling over economic or racial or religious differences; it must act together, and it must act now. As Orthodox Christians, we use the Greek word “kairos” to describe a moment in time, often a brief moment in time, which has eternal significance. When Our Lord Jesus Christ began his preaching, he declared that a decisive moment, a kairos (Mark 1:14) had arrived in the relationship between God and mankind. The Mother of God, who prays for and protects mankind, experienced her moment of kairos when she received the angel Gabriel and replied, “May it be according to your word.” (Luke 1:38). And as individuals we are often conscious of a kairos, a moment when we make a choice that will affect our whole lives.
For the human race as a whole, there is now a kairos, a decisive time in our relationship with God’s creation. We will either act in time to protect life on earth from the worst consequences of human folly, or we will fail to act. On behalf of all of us, on behalf of our Greenlandic hosts and on behalf of all the people, from many lands and religious traditions who have taken part in this symposium, allow me to offer up a public prayer: “May God grant us the wisdom to act in time.”
His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
