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Symposium IV- "The Adriatic Sea, A Sea at Risk, A Unity of Purpose"
6 June 2002, Opening Plenary chaired by
Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres and All Albania
Short Introduction
1. A warm welcome to everyone who has
come to this Symposium, "The Adriatic Sea: A Sea at Risk, A Unity of
Purpose." May the Adriatic Sea be calm, our discussions fruitful, our
proposals inspired and our decisions significant. We will have the
opportunity to experience more intensely the Psalms when they say: "The
earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord" (Psalm 32/33:5). "The earth
is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell
therein; for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the
rivers" (Psalm 23/24:1-2).
This Symposium presents an exceptional
variety of well known participants from various religious beliefs,
scientific disciplines and professional involvement. We are all bound
together by a deep concern and an active interest for the issues of the
physical environment. We hope that the wealth of experience and knowledge,
as well as that of spiritual and ethical presuppositions, which the
distinguished participants represent, will help us proceed to fruitful
discussion on our first topic: "Towards an Environmental Ethic." And more
specific, to the questions: "Why is an ecological ethic needed? How can it
be developed? How can it be applied?" It would be a very important step to
come to an agreement on the basic principles of Environmental Ethics and to
support one another in our struggle for a more consistent respect towards
the environment; especially in relation to implementing these principles.
2. Since we are in Albania, let me connect
this last point with some of the efforts of the Orthodox Autocephalous
Church of Albania. From March 2001 onward, the Foundation of the Orthodox
Church, "Spirit of Love", in co-operation with the Departments of Biology of
the Universities of Tirana, Athens and Thessaloniki, implemented a "Programme
for the protection of the environment and the formation of specialists."
This programme included: First, more than 1000 hours of training for 15
young Albanian scientists, who have completed degrees in biology, or forest
and environmental engineering; second, a study concerning the protection of
the eco-system in the Zvernec area, where a 14th century Orthodox monastery
can be found, of the valley of the River Vjosa, one of the most unspoilt
rivers of Europe, and of the Forest of Llogara; and third, a study of the
problem of garbage management in the cities of Durres and Berat, as well as
the organization of necessary work for environment protection (i.e.
rehabilitation of places for garbage collection and disposal).
For the period 2002-2003, two projects are
scheduled: a) An evaluation of the urban recyclable waste in a pilot area of
Tirana; b) A "Green" project on the improvement of territories around
primary schools in a pilot area in the periphery of Tirana -a good start for
the environmental education of children who have grown up under
difficulties.
3. Various people, both within
Albania as well as abroad, wonder and ask why and how the Orthodox Church of
Albania, who only eleven years ago lay in total ruins, and who even today
continues to have urgent inner needs, can be so intensively involved in
ecological projects. The answer is simple. An interest in the creation is an
immediate duty for those who feel they have benefited from God; it is a
consequence of an Orthodox self- consciousness.
The horizon of Orthodoxy does not
comprise only humankind. She has an immediate interest for the entire
creation. Since the disturbance of the physical environment's equilibrium
intensifies due to the careless actions of human beings, the Orthodox Church
considers it her duty to invigorate -within her members and society in
general- a sensitivity for the creation that suffers the worst exploitation
of man's greed; to limit the consumer hysteria with a temperate
"self-control" that forms an inseparable component of "the fruit of the
Spirit" (Gal 5:22), and to cultivate an effective respect for the physical
environment, stressing unceasingly that this is the work of the Triune God,
who reveals the sacredness and liturgical role that all creatures have.
Aiming at the development of an
Orthodox consciousness concerning our ecological duty, all our festal
messages for Christmas and Easter over the last decade include long
references to the ecological dimension of the Orthodox feasts. We emphasize
that, whether as humanity or as smaller groups, we have exploited nature too
much through selfishness and narrow-mindedness. But also every one of us has
shown indifference, or even contempt for nature, polluting it in various
ways. The more we realize the inexcusable injustice we do through our
inactions, the sooner we will be reconciled with our physical environment.
Very vivid is our belief that the
systematic cultivation of a religious conscience, with an evident respect
for the natural environment, forms a basic element of our doxology and
gratitude to the Creator of the universe.
4. The communion that we experience
on this boat with representatives of various religions as well as the
sciences and arts, reminds us that parallel with the area of truth -part of
which is the truth related to natural phenomena- there exists within the
reality of human life the dimension of beauty and goodness. And it does not
seem that truth, beauty and goodness are completely separated from one
another. I dare say, borrowing the words of a modern computer scholar,
Professor Brian Cantwell Smith, that "Just as the physicists claim that
gravity, charge, mass, etc., weren't separate in the first moments of the
universe, I don't think God made the world with truth, beauty and goodness
fully separated out, either." The Orthodox Church, with her word, her
liturgy, and her entire existence, interweaves truth, beauty and goodness,
stressing a majestic project of God for world and humanity, which is
completed by His creative and binding love.
The fact that our Symposium takes
place on a boat travelling the Sea brings to mind a saying of the
distinguished investigator of the bottom of the sea, Jacques Cousteau: "In
the end, people protect only that which they truly love."
Let us proceed with the work of our
Symposium, with much love towards the nature that surrounds us, with a
special sensitivity -I would even dare to say love- toward the beauty of the
Adriatic coast, with manifest love for each of our fellow-travellers; and
with more love for the Creator of the Universe, Who is the source of truth,
beauty and goodness, and Who, in the New Testament is identified with love.
I believe that in this way we strengthen our capacity towards creative
thinking and general success in our Symposium that starts today.
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