Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 1, 2019

CONTACT:
Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis
E-mail: halkisummit@patriarchate.org

ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW TO HOST INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT ON “THEOLOGICAL FORMATION AND ECOLOGICAL AWARENESS”

ISTANBUL – His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will host the third Halki Summit from May 31st to June 4th, 2019. The summit will convene distinguished representatives of Orthodox theological schools and seminaries from all over the world, and focus on the theme of “Theological Formation and Ecological Awareness.” Some 50 delegates from over 40 institutions will be in attendance.

Halki Summit III is being organized as an inter-Orthodox working conference. Summit participants will hear addresses by prominent environmental theologians (Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant), and will discuss ways that ecological awareness can be fostered and advanced in Orthodox institutions of higher learning throughout the world by means of courses and other programs related to creation care. The ultimate purpose will be to promote environmental sensitivity in the core curricula of theological institutions by continuing the spirit of dialogue and exchange expressed during the two previous summits, as well as the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s longstanding concern and ongoing initiatives over three decades for the protection of the natural environment.

The first two summits convened activists and scientists, journalists and business leaders, theologians and academics, in order to engage and collaborate across intellectual disciplines and boundaries. Halki Summit I was held in June 2012, and focused on the theme of “Global Responsibility and Environmental Sustainability.” Halki Summit II took place in June 2015, and assembled pioneers and experts from around the world in a conversation on environment, literature and the arts.

Photos and reports from Halki Summit III will be published on the web and through social media. Learn more about Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s environmental justice positions and how he was dubbed “The Green Patriarch” by global media and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.