Patriarch Bartholomew Seeks to Create a 'Common Sacred Worldview'

ISTANBUL — On July 29, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered a keynote address at the World Council of Religions for Peace meeting titled “Contradictions and Preconditions of Interreligious Dialogue.” He proposed a “common sacred worldview” to address modern challenges, countering the prevailing “reductive materialist worldview” that he said reduces human flourishing to material dimensions, excluding the Sacred.

Patriarch Bartholomew argued that this materialist perspective distorts human completeness, fostering isolation, exploitation, and environmental harm. He described humans as relational beings grounded in a transcendent reality, not autonomous units prioritizing personal gain over others and nature.

To counter this, he advocated for a “common sacred worldview” as a foundation for collective spiritual flourishing, emphasizing that it is not a syncretistic religion or a replacement for distinct religious traditions. This framework centers on four pillars, with the Sacred—expressed as God, Allah, Brahman, or the Luminous Void—at its core. He stressed that humans are inherently relational due to their connection to the Sacred.

The Patriarch highlighted the framework’s potential to bridge faith and science, drawing on quantum mechanics and biology to challenge mechanistic universe models and promote a purposeful, interconnected reality aligned with spiritual perspectives. He acknowledged the diversity of religions as a barrier, proposing a “meta-linguistic system” to translate individual sacred truths into a shared terminology for contemporary dialogue.

Patriarch Bartholomew clarified that the goal is not a unified global religion but a “global alliance of conscience” rooted in shared love for humanity and reverence for the mystery of one God. He concluded, “This is the only viable peace,” emphasizing unity through common values, not identical beliefs.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Constantinople Patriarchate described all religions as diverse paths to one God.

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