The 2025 Templeton Prize has been awarded to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodoxy and a visionary voice in the global movement for ecological justice. The £1.1 million prize honours a lifetime of prophetic leadership that has redefined the moral dimensions of environmental stewardship and challenged both faith communities and secular institutions to see the Earth not merely as a resource, but as a sacred inheritance. Often referred to as the “Green Patriarch,” Bartholomew is not only the first among equals in the hierarchy of Orthodox Christian leaders, but also one of the first major religious figures to consistently frame environmental degradation as a spiritual crisis. Decades before climate change entered mainstream conversation, he had already begun weaving together theology and ecology in a call for moral responsibility toward creation.
The John Templeton Foundation, which announced the award on April 9, praised Bartholomew for “pioneering efforts to bridge scientific insight and spiritual wisdom in our relationship to the natural world.” The foundation highlighted how his tireless engagement with scientists, theologians, and policymakers has helped reframe environmental harm not simply as a technical or political issue, but as a profound ethical and spiritual failure.