New York, September 26, 2025
Photo: Fos Fanariou
Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople received the 2025 Templeton Prize at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday, September 24, becoming the first leader of an Orthodox Church to receive the award. The prize, worth approximately $1.4 million, recognizes individuals who bridge religion and science while advancing spiritual understanding.
The ceremony was attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who first dubbed Bartholomew the “Green Patriarch” in 1997. In his acceptance speech, the Patriarch emphasized the interconnection between environmental and spiritual responsibility, reports Fos Fanariou.
“The God who breathed stars and humans into being is the same God who grieves when a single sparrow falls, when a coral reef bleaches white as bone, and when a child gasps for clean air,” Pat. Bartholomew stated, noting that the award belongs not to him personally but to the ecumenical vision served by the Patriarchate for decades.
The Patriarch traced the Orthodox Church’s environmental commitment to 1989, when his predecessor Patriarch Demetrios established September 1 as a day of prayer for the protection of creation. He called for reuniting science and faith, comparing a physicist studying glacier acceleration to a theologian reading about “the groans of creation” in the Apostle Paul’s writings as “two people reading the same book in different languages.”
In his address, Pat. Bartholomew criticized religious communities that embraced “conspiracy theories” during the COVID-19 pandemic and condemned those who limit themselves to “words of faith” without action. He emphasized the connection between consumerist greed and environmental destruction, proposing ascetic practices as a “joyful discipline” that heals excess and restores harmony. He also expressed concern for young people’s “existential anxiety about the environment,” calling this a “moral failure” of older generations, and stressed that environmental protection requires social justice, stating “we cannot heal the planet without healing our relationships with each other.”
The Patriarch concluded his speech by stating: “The earth groans, but it also hopes. The question is whether we will participate in the song of its pain or in the hymn of its gratitude.”
The Templeton Prize has been awarded annually since 1972 to individuals including Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Francis Collins. The $1.4 million award supports the recipient’s ongoing work and initiatives.
Patriarch Bartholomew arrived in New York on September 14 for an extended visit that concluded on September 24. During his stay, he met with President Trump and Vice President Vance, as well as Ukrainian President Zelensky, who was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly session. Reports indicate that Vice President Vance confronted the Patriarch about his silence regarding persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Additionally, the Patriarch’s exclamation of “Glory to Ukraine!” during his meeting with Zelensky has caused controversy in Greece.
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