His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received the 2025 Templeton Prize at a ceremony in New York City on Wednesday, September 24.
The John Templeton Foundation recognised him “for his pioneering efforts to bridge scientific and spiritual understandings of humanity’s relationship with the natural world, bringing together people of different faiths to heed a call for stewardship of creation.”
In a stirring address, the Ecumenical Patriarch lamented the historical divide between science and religion.
“Through the centuries, we have witnessed a tragic alienation—religion withdrawing to its sanctuaries, science retreating to its laboratories, each suspicious of the other’s claims upon truth,” he said.
“For far too long, faith and science have circled each other cautiously, sometimes approaching mutual reconciliation, more often hardening into reciprocal incomprehension.”
Instead, His All-Holiness called for a new “theology of inter-connectedness,” uniting science, faith, and human responsibility for the planet.
“A recognition that the health of our planet and the welfare of its people are not separate concerns but aspects of a single reality. Environmental justice and social justice are not distinct causes but different names for the same commitment to the flourishing and balance of all life,” he emphasised.
The event also featured remarks from former US Vice President Al Gore and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, underscoring the global significance of the Patriarch’s environmental and spiritual vision.
First awarded in 1972, the Templeton Prize honours individuals who advance spiritual understanding and bridge the gap between religion and science. Past recipients include Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and British astrophysicist Martin Rees.
Source: archons.org
