Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Along an aptly rain-soaked Golden Horn, this weekend the Ecumenical Patriarchate is presenting Halki Summit VI, entitled “Water: Spirit and Science,” in Istanbul, Türkiye.
The Halki Summit, which celebrated its inaugural meeting in 2012, is a gathering organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate for activists, scientists, journalists, business leaders, theologians, and academics to engage in environmentalist discussion and build interdisciplinary connections. This year’s Summit, co-sponsored by Hellenic Open University, addresses the scientific and spiritual dimensions of water as a vital resource of our planet and a fundamental symbol of Christian theological and sacramental practice.
Attendees participated in opening vespers at the Ecumenical Patriarchate last night, and this morning received greetings from the Ecumenical Patriarchate and Huffington Ecumenical Institute’s Fr. John Chryssavgis; Hellenic Open University’s Professor Ioannis Kalavrouziotis; and Istanbul Aydin University’s Volkan Oral.
In his opening remarks, Fr. John emphasized the centrality of “forging friendships and forging networks” to the Halki Summits, reiterating in an interview that these networks are both relational and intellectual: “If there’s one thing…I’d like people to do in their parishes, it’s make connections. It’s so easy…to eat a meal and not think about where it came from, who worked for it, what they were paid for it, what the working conditions were, what’s in the food, how much it costs, how much it costs elsewhere.” These connections, or “bridge-building between science and theology,” are what he believes His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has achieved in his tenure, and what he believes to be the strength of the Halki Summits.
His All-Holiness, whose theological and ethical commitment to environmentalism has earned him the nickname of “Green Patriarch,” likewise highlighted the need for “extending invaluable networks” in his keynote address. Addressing the Summit attendees, he stressed that both science and theology are critical to “reminding each other that water is an urgent resource that requires our immediate and constant attention,” as it is “only with collective action and innovative solutions that we will address the challenges of respecting water as an essential component of life on earth and salvation in heaven.”
While water carries symbolic significance in many cultures and religious traditions, His All-Holiness remarked that water is also “essential for life, underpinning health, food security, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability,” yet we “are now facing an escalating global water crisis…the data is staggering and highlights the compelling need to address equitable water accessibility, water quality, and water sustainability,” the scarcity of which “disproportionately affects vulnerable populations.” Find His All-Holiness’s full remarks here.
Following the opening statements, Summit speakers offered historical and theological perspectives on water. Highlights included Professor Aikaterini Tsalabouni’s “Water as a Witness of God’s Power & Blessing in the Bible: An Eco-theological Approach” and Rev. Professor Stephanos Alexopoulos’s “Water in the Euchology of the Byzantine Tradition.” Both speakers’ historical-literary analysis made clear, as Alexopoulos noted, that His All-Holiness is “saying nothing new” in advocating for care for the environment and calling for repentance for ecological sin.
His Grace Bishop Anthony (Vrame) of Synada’s theological presentation, entitled “After the Water Blessing: Lessons from the Seminary Classroom,” also offered valuable insights into current trends regarding parish-level environmentalism. As an instructor at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, he stressed that if we do not include the environment in our theological education, we send the dangerous message that theology has nothing to do with the material world. His Grace shared in an interview that in training the next generation of spiritual leadership, he aims to teach seminarians “to not just look at the theology,” but to recognize that “the ritual and the piety has an actual practical application for what we do in our lives, in our homes, in our churches, in our church communities.”
Before returning to the recently-renovated Patriarchal Maraslion School for presentation sessions focused on scientific perspectives, “Water: Spirit and Science” attendees and speakers marveled at the befitting rainy weather, sharing lunch and building the friendships Fr. John and His All-Holiness encouraged this morning.
Tomorrow, August 31, 2024, Halki Summit VI will continue with more presentations; concluding remarks from Professor Gayle Woloschak; a tour of Halki Monastery and Library; and the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and Indiction at the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
For more information about the Halki Summit, please visit www.halkisummit.com/.
Photo: GOARCH/Dimitrios Panagos.