TURKEY: Orthodox Christians Go ‘Green’

By Pratap Chatterjee Reprint | | Print |

Pratap Chatterjee

KUSADASI, Turkey, Oct 1 1995 (IPS) - Scientists and religious leaders this week set aside their traditional differences to explore the connection between the spiritual and ecological health of individuals, nations and the planet.

The cruise ship Preveli, carrying leading environmental and religious thinkers, was this week moored off Patmos island, where the Christian Saint John, also known as John the Evangelist, reputedly penned his prophecy of the end of the world 1,900 years ago.

Their host, Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 200 million members of the various Christian Orthodox churches, has invited the scientists and theologians to examine possible links between religious doctrine and the current global environmental crisis.

“We seek your expert counsel, suggestions and input so that the orthodox worldwide can better contribute to the common front being forged by intrepid scientists, environmentalists and theologians who desire not only a pollution-free world but a ‘healing of nations’ as well,” he told delegates on Friday.

The discussion is part of celebrations to mark the 1,900th anniversary of John’s Book of Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible, in which the destruction of the world is foretold in the ‘Apocalypse’ — the final battle between good and evil.

The Apocalypse of St. John, as written on Patmos, details a dramatic destruction of the rivers and seas as part of what many Christians believe is a vision of the final days of the planet.

Some environmentalists say that many of his descriptions match the major changes that have occurred around the world, particularly in the three seas in the Mediterranean region — the Black Sea, linked by the Bosphorus straits to the Aegean, which is in turn linked to the Mediterranean by the Dardanelles straits.

In the 21st chapter of Revelations John writes that he saw how “the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea”. Scientists on the trip have brought evidence that the type of environmental catastrophe forecast by the Christian prophet is already a reality in the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1990, some 600 dead or dying striped dolphins were washed ashore on Greek and Turkish beaches, killed by a virus that scientists believe may be linked to water pollution.

Other species are also at risk: “Less than five monk seals remain in the Black Sea since the dynamiting of their only breeding ground in Bulgaria ten years ago. In the Mediterranean there are only 300 left,” said Lawrence Mee, a marine biologist in Istanbul who is travelling on the ship.