On September 2nd and 3rd of 2016 a Conference was held in Thessaloniki, Greece. It was entitled “ Integral Ecology as the new road to reconciliation” and was held “under the High Patronage of His Holiness the Pope Francis, His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Canterbury…”

On the official program for this event it states: “The Meeting intends to build on the Encyclical letter Laudato Si (2015) of Pope Francis as well as on ‘The Witness of the Church in Today’s World’ (aka the ‘Missions’ document) adopted by the Pan-Orthodox Synod in June 2016, to explore their meaning and potential contribution to the contemporary world.”

Here are (but a few) disturbing excerpts from Orthodox participants of this Conference:

1) “On the basis of “the economy of the Holy Spirit” God uses not only the Church, but many other powers of the world for God’s mission (missio dei) for the salvation of humankind and the entire creation. God in God’s own self is a life of communion and God’s involvement in history (and consequently our religious responsibility) aims not at transmitting doctrinal statements (dogmas) or ethical commands, but at drawing humanity and creation in general into this communion with God’s very life.” – Dr. Petros Vassiliadis

2) “The times in which we live may prove to be unforgettable and historically significant, as for the first time, since the beginning of the inter-Christian relations during the previous century, it appears that a stunning ecumenical agreement of all Evangelical, Anglican, Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches actually exists, both in the way ‘the signs of the times’ are interpreted and the interdependence of social, political, economic, environmental and spiritual challenges is acknowledged, and in the way the sense of responsibility in regard to the current obligation emerges and the decisiveness for common action in order to fight the causes and also, to avert any destructive consequences of the present situation in the ‘common house’ is demonstrated.” – Stylianos Tsompanidis

3) “The Orthodox conciliar document, is a short exposition in a Dorian style of the main views expressed in the various speeches of Patriarch Bartholomew. In short, all Christian traditions slowly, but steadily, started being concerned about two interrelated aspects of globalization: ecology and economy, both stemming from the Greek word oikos (household), and both carrying inherently the notion of communion (koinonia).” – Dr. Petros Vassiliadis

4) “The current ecumenical acceptance of the urgency of environmental protection and the integral approach of ecology at a great extent the fruit of the participation of the Orthodox Churches in the consultations and the activities of the Ecumenical Movement appears as a great opportunity for worldwide Christianity of every tradition and at all levels to co-participate in an struggle in favor of the whole world, and to put its proclamations into practice, all in the spirit of becoming an effective player and an ambassador for necessary radical changes. This common Christian ecumenical effort, when incited by the love of God for the whole creation and determined by the principles of His Kingdom, can prove to be a true ecumenical school and a dynamic way to achieve reconciliation and unity for the Church and the world.” – Stylianos Tsompanidis

More information concerning this may be found here: http://www.aiesc.net/thessalonique/…

Well, for what Orthodox Australia is concerned, we do not share the same view on ‘the signs of the time’ interpretation as they do.