Patriarch Bartholomew honored for climate protection and ecumenical efforts
Patriarch Bartholomew. Photo: Delfi
On 10 April 2025, the John Templeton Foundation announced that the 2025 Templeton Prize would be awarded to Bartholomew, head of the Church of Constantinople. The Patriarch was awarded for his "pioneering efforts to bridge scientific and spiritual understandings of humanity’s relationship with the natural world".
Representatives of the Foundation especially highlighted the Patriarch’s environmental initiatives and his numerous ecumenical and interreligious efforts both within and beyond the Abrahamic traditions.
The statement also emphasised Patriarch Bartholomew’s stance on the issues of “Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The official award ceremony is set to take place in New York in September 2025.
The Templeton Prize is considered one of the most prestigious honors in the field of religion. Its first recipient in 1973 was Mother Teresa. Subsequent laureates have included the 14th Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and other prominent religious and public figures.
It is worth recalling that Patriarch Bartholomew recently stated that there was no true schism between Rome and Constantinople in 1054, but rather “tensions that intensified over time”.
Read also
Most Britons oppose abortions, poll finds
The survey found that 62% of UK residents support legal protection for unborn children from the moment their heartbeat is first detected.
Annual academic conference opens at Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary
The fifteenth annual conference was dedicated to the anniversaries of Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn Ostrožský and Metropolitan Rafail (Zaborovský).
Feminists attack Roman Catholic churches in Latin America
During protest actions, members of radical groups attacked cathedrals in several Latin American countries, assaulted police officers, and threw paint at believers.
UOC hierarch takes part in German bishops’ conference
Bishop Veniamin of Boyarka took part in the OBKD assembly in Düsseldorf.
Ivano-Frankivsk scraps school project planned on demolished UOC church site
The authorities in Ivano-Frankivsk have dropped plans to build the school for whose construction a UOC church was demolished.
Shostatsky to UOC: If you are so righteous – do not cling to your churches
The OCU metropolitan called on UOC faithful and clergy to pray rather than defend their churches from seizures.