SW News: Every act of armed conflict is a war against Creation because it endangers the environment severely, Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople said during the annual Message for the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment and the opening of the Ecclesiastical Year on September 1.

The message specifically mentions Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is associated with horrific ecological devastation.

Patriarch Bartholomew said the destruction of forests and loss of arable agricultural land all attest to the fact that the people and ecosystem of Ukraine have suffered and continue to suffer incalculable losses.

The pollution of the atmosphere, water, and earth by bombings, the risk of nuclear holocaust, the emission of dangerous radiation from nuclear plants, the carcinogenic dust from exploding buildings, the destruction of forests, and the depletion of arable agricultural property.

Therefore, he once more called for the initiation of sincere dialogue and an immediate end to the war.

The Patriarch said the fight for the respect of human rights cannot ignore the fact that they are threatened by climate change, the shortage of potable water, fertile soil, and clean air, but also by environmental degradation in general. He also noted that the idea of human rights has expanded today to include environmental rights.

Therefore, it is urgently necessary to address the effects of the current ecological catastrophe in terms of human rights. Patriarch Bartholomew said it is self-evident that these rights, in all their aspects and dimensions, are one and the same.

Patriarch Bartholomew praised the positive response to the ecological initiatives carried out by the Patriarchate over the past few decades, not only in the Christian world but also among other religions, in politics, civil society, and the sciences, as well as among ecological movements and young people. He said the destruction of the natural environment affects the poor above all.

The message clarifies that all of the Church's initiatives to raise environmental awareness are not merely additional activities, but are instead its essential expression and realization as an extension of the Holy Eucharist.