Message from Karechin II, catholikos of all Armenians
XX International Ecumenical Conference
It is urgent to awaken the sense of responsibility in mankind in his treatment of nature, given to us by God, to fend off the natural disasters threatening the planet
XX International Ecumenical Conference
on Orthodox spirituality
Bose, Wednesday 5 - Saturday 8 September 2012
in collaboration with the Orthodox Churches
Dear Participants of the 20th International Ecumenical Conference,
From the spiritual center of All Armenians, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, with joy and love we convey Our Pontifical Blessings and warm greetings to the 20th International Ecumenical Conference, being held in Bose, and to the organizers, delegates of Sister Churches and all participants.
We support you in our prayers as you have gathered again in this beautiful Bose Monastery in order to reflect on the amazing story of God’s creation, and reevaluate the God-created mission of mankind, through the comprehensive discussion of the Holy Bible and patristic resources under the theme of “Man-Custodian of Creation”.
The creation was the manifestation of God’s endless love. As human beings created out of God’s image and likeness, God decorated man with different gifts of the Holy Spirit and gave him great responsibility to be custodian over all of creation, to show unending care and attention to the God created nature, and with reason and care use our natural resources.
The Apostle St. Paul says. “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused” (1 Tim. 4:4), therefore nature, as a creation of God, has to be thoroughly protected. Protection of nature is one of the modern challenges of concern for the world and our future generations. It is urgent to awaken the sense of responsibility in mankind in his treatment of nature, given to us by God, to fend off the natural disasters threatening the planet, and with joint efforts, build a prosperous and better life for humanity.
Dear Ones, through such discussions and cooperative efforts it will be possible to bring about awareness of the Biblical and patristic commentaries on the story of creation and raise the level of responsibility and consciousness in our daily care of nature.
We wish success to the Churches in their efforts working in this field, that they will achieve productive results in the mission of nature protection and care of creation.
With Blessings,
Karekin II
Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians