News
The World Council of Churches (WCC) congratulates the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople for receiving the Freedom of Worship Award of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute which acknowledges his efforts in promoting religious freedom, dialogue and environmental concerns.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and prime minister Mark Rutte will present this award to him in a ceremony on 12 May in Middelburg, the Netherlands.
Bartholomew I was nominated for this award for his immense contribution to dialogues among Christianity, Islam and Judaism in his native Turkey, and elsewhere. His call to the churches to work for environmental progress has earned him the title of “the green Patriarch”.
The Four Freedoms Awards are presented to personalities whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to the principles which United States president Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed as essential to democracy in his historic speech to Congress on 6 January 1941: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
Bartholomew I has been engaged with the WCC in the promotion of unity among churches and in addressing many concerns of the ecumenical movement. This relationship has deep historical roots, as the Ecumenical Patriarchate is a founding member of the WCC.
While congratulating Bartholomew I on his award, the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said, “We appreciate the recognition His All Holiness Bartholomew I is being given through the ‘Freedom Award’ for his contribution to inter-religious dialogue and his efforts to promote ecological and environmental justice.”
“His All Holiness Bartholomew I’s engagement with these ecumenical concerns is vital. We hope that they will continue to inspire churches around the world, especially as we prepare our own 10th Assembly that will focus precisely on these dimensions under the theme ‘God of life, lead us to justice and peace’,” added Tveit.
The renowned Dutch theologian Willem A. Visser 't Hooft, who took up office in the WCC as its first general secretary in 1948, also received the Freedom of Worship Award in 1982.
This year along with Bartholomew I, other recipients of the Four Freedoms Awards include Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil, Ela Ramesh Bhatt, human rights worker from India, Hussain Al- Shahristani, deputy prime minister for energy in Iraq and the Al-Jazeera Television Network.
More information on the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
“Truth does not fear dialogue,” says Ecumenical Patriarch (WCC news release of 18 February 2010)
