A significant address at the International Conference “World Policy Conference” focused on the importance of safeguarding peace and human dignity. “May the pursuit of peace become a shared responsibility,” the Ecumenical Patriarch wished.
Emphasizing the importance of preserving peace and social justice in today’s unstable global environment, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered his official speech on Friday, April 24, 2026, during the 18th edition of the International Conference “World Policy Conference,” held in Chantilly, France.
Addressing the large audience of the Conference in French, he noted, among other things, that peace is not merely one political objective among many.
“It constitutes the deepest expression of communion among persons. It is also the ultimate condition for the preservation of creation in the face of the forces of fragmentation that threaten it,” the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized. At the same time, at another point, he noted that although technological advancements and economic interdependence have brought us closer than ever before, there is an increasing tension and fragmentation, both geopolitical and geoeconomic. This is manifested, in particular, in the growing vulnerability of international trade, market instability, and the gradual decline of global prosperity, stressed Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
“The international trading system, which could serve as an instrument of peaceful cooperation, tends to evolve into a set of regional blocs, at times antagonistic, structured around dominant powers. In this context, the universality of law is undermined, and the sense of injustice is intensifying,” stressed the Ecumenical Patriarch.
At another point in his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch noted that the global system of governance appears to be profoundly weakened, stated Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. “Despite the proliferation of international organizations, we do not witness greater unity, but rather an increasing complexity, at times approaching fragmentation. This network of institutions, if not guided by a shared moral vision, risks becoming a new Tower of Babel: a multiplicity of voices without true harmony,” emphasized Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Referring to the major challenges of our time, such as the rapid development of artificial intelligence and technology more broadly, as well as the environmental crisis—which reveals a lack of unity in addressing it, while at the same time giving rise to significant social injustices, particularly affecting the most vulnerable groups—His All-Holiness recalled that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has undertaken important initiatives on social issues, including the protection of God’s creation.
“In the face of these challenges, it would be illusory to take refuge in purely technocratic approaches. Behind statistics and economic analyses lie human realities: shattered lives, silent suffering, and uprooted peoples. The fragmentation of the world is not merely a matter of structures; it reflects a deeper anthropological crisis. We are thus confronted with a decisive choice: either we accept division as an inevitability, or we commit ourselves resolutely to building a global order founded on solidarity. In this context, awareness of our interdependence becomes essential.
The Orthodox theological tradition expresses this reality through the concept of perichoresis, which denotes a dynamic communion, a living interdependence. No one can exist alone. No one can be saved alone. Peace, therefore, presupposes a transcendence of selfishness, whether individual or collective,” emphasized Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Concluding his address, the Ecumenical Patriarch said: “Allow us, in closing, to express a wish: that our work may not be confined to analyses, however relevant they may be, but that it may open concrete paths; that our reflections may be translated into real commitments; and that our pursuit of peace may become a shared responsibility.
May the God of peace and reconciliation enlighten our minds and guide our decisions. May He grant us the wisdom to transcend our divisions and the courage to work together for the common good.
‘Pursue love’ (1 Cor. 14:1), as the Holy Apostle Paul exhorts us. May this exhortation become our compass in a world called to rediscover, at the heart of its fractures, its profound vocation to unity.”
