Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: Life is not digital

The dangers of the digital age, the challenge of environmental protection, and the vitality of the Greek language were the focal points of an interview given by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Georgios I. Androutsopoulos, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Athens.

The article was originally published in the “University of Athens” supplement of NKUA, which was included with To Vima tis Kyriakis on Sunday, 25 May 2025.

The Primate of Orthodoxy shares his thoughts on social justice, the pursuit of harmony, salvation through selfless giving and solidarity, while also expressing his deep ecological concerns.

Interview with the Ecumenical Patriarch:

– Your All-Holiness,

Thank you sincerely, on behalf of the academic community, for the honour and opportunity of this dialogue. Let us begin with the younger generation. On the one hand, our university students excel in their studies abroad and in international competitions. On the other hand, today’s youth spend much of their time on Instagram and TikTok, while incidents of youth violence are on the rise. Have we lost the models and the path of prudence and virtue in our time? How can the University and the Church contribute to a renewal?

“Christ is Risen! Thank you warmly for the invitation. I am familiar with the University of Athens’ newspaper, and I commend your initiative to create this platform for dialogue and reflection, as well as your efforts to showcase the multifaceted work taking place at your historic institution, not only for the benefit of the academic community, but for Greek society as a whole.

It is encouraging that today’s generation manages to achieve high goals in various scientific fields. However, formal education alone is not enough. We need broader social education, grounded in family principles, social values, care for and respect toward our fellow human beings, and a culture of solidarity. This requires that we be part of society, that we participate, care for others, and not live in isolated self-sufficiency.

Social media fosters the illusion of such self-sufficiency, contributing largely to the construction of a false self-image and an inflated ego in a digital world of virtual reality. Life is not to be found in that realm. It is not digital. Friends are not digitally enhanced faces we wait to ‘like’ us or send us a smiling emoji so we can feel socially accepted.

That is not reality. And we all know there are many hidden dangers in it. The threat does not stem from human inventions themselves, but from how we use them. We live in the age of communication, yet we increasingly fail to communicate face-to-face. That is the problem—and I fear it is, to a large extent, one of the root causes of the violence we are witnessing. We think we are communicating, but we live in the loneliness of our self-sufficiency, often magnifying our ego. We forget what it means to share, to respect one another.

Therefore, I urge your students, our youth, not to confine themselves in digital golden cages, wasting their precious time in a virtual, unreal universe. Go out into the world, breathe the oxygen of human connection.

God created us to live together, in real communities, with people who have real needs, not in digital groups of virtual friends jostling for a few likes. Go out into the real world, have conversations, share ideas and concerns, and dream. Make the most of your time as students. Get involved in your academic community and prepare yourselves for society, for the arena of life, to make your dreams come true in the real world.”

– Do you believe we are at risk from the excesses of Artificial Intelligence? In some cases, our physical presence seems unnecessary, while computational systems now compose poetry and create paintings. Can AI replace the teacher and gain a soul or an eternal perspective? How do you view the possibility of being governed by machines in the future?

“We live in an era where the digital world often appears to substitute reality. Modern technological capabilities, achievements of the human mind, are undoubtedly valuable tools for many scientific fields, such as medicine. Yet, if misused, they may lead us in a very different direction. This is a challenge humanity has faced countless times throughout history.

Once again, I urge your students, our youth, not to become imprisoned in digital golden cages, wasting their precious time in a virtual, unreal universe. Go out into the world, breathe the oxygen of human connection.

God gave us reason and freedom, but also the responsibility for our choices and actions. Therefore, in my view, the danger does not lie in Artificial Intelligence itself, but in how we choose to use it. It is our creation; its use is our responsibility—and we alone will experience the consequences of its misuse. I pay close attention to the concerns raised by some experts. We must be particularly cautious, as AI’s widespread use and vast potential can lead to malicious acts. This is my main concern.

Regarding education and the role of the teacher, I believe that AI will not replace them. Not because it wouldn’t be technically possible, but because the relationships between parent and child, teacher and student, professor and university student rely on face-to-face communication, collaboration, and interaction. Artificial Intelligence—though it may mimic human thinking impressively—lacks humanity. It has no emotions, no soul. And this must never be forgotten. Let us not become overly enthusiastic. Let us continue to trust in human connection. As a university, you did well to establish partnerships for educating and familiarizing your academic community with the basic principles, applications, and potential of AI.”

– On the climate crisis: The Ecumenical Patriarchate was the first Christian Church to react to the ecological destruction of the planet. Does Orthodoxy have a voice and role in this matter? If so, where does it identify the root causes of the phenomenon, and what does it propose for its resolution?

“In the effort to raise awareness about the urgent need to protect the natural environment, every voice and every contribution matter. The ecological issue is not only for activists, environmentalists, or scientific experts. It concerns us all. For in truth, we are temporary stewards of this world, which we must hand down—not necessarily improved, but at least intact—to our children and future generations. Our social responsibility and spiritual mission as Christians demand respect for and protection of God’s Creation, of which humanity is a part.

We must coexist and live in harmony with all living beings, protect the environment, and use natural resources wisely and for the benefit of all. These resources are not infinite, and we must never forget that. These principles were what led our Ecumenical Patriarchate, nearly 40 years ago, to engage with this issue, encouraging every person of goodwill to participate in the global awakening. Indeed, it was the first Christian Church, perhaps the first religious institution, to systematically address the ecological crisis, the consequences of climate change, and the urgent need to protect our common home.

In time, the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion joined us, along with other church bodies, religious leaders, and international institutions. This gives us satisfaction and hope that together we can change attitudes and build a better future for all life. That is why we commend the University of Athens for its participation in this effort. Education is essential for changing mindsets and behaviour.

The ecological issue concerns us all, for we are temporary stewards of this world, which we must hand down, not necessarily improved, but at least intact, to the generations to come.

As we have said before, we are convinced that reversing climate change and tackling the environmental challenge requires a radical transformation in how we perceive and treat our planet. Thus, your University’s initiatives and the involvement of its professors and students contribute meaningfully to this aim: to change our behaviour and protect our shared home.”

– The Greek language has been described as “the mother tongue of the spirit.” What is its role in the convergence of Christianity and Hellenism?

“The Greek language is the quintessential meeting point of Christianity and Hellenism. To transcend the bounds of Judaism, early Christianity had to use the Greek language to express itself. But, as we all know, ‘an entire civilisation passes through language.’ Thus, the course of Christianity was indelibly marked by the fact that Greek became the mother tongue of theology.

In this encounter, influenced the Greek spirit extended beyond linguistic expression into the content of the faith, there would have been a risk of distorting the Christian message. However, thanks to the Great Fathers of the Church in the 4th century, Greek philosophy and language were harnessed in service to the Church and its theology. Christian thought was enriched, and the new experience of salvation in Christ was powerfully expressed through philosophical terminology. Christianity was not Hellenized; rather, as our great theologians Fr. Georges Florovsky and Metropolitan John Zizioulas of Pergamon have said, Hellenism was ‘ecclesialized’ or ‘Christianized.’

It is certain that the patristic synthesis of philosophy and theology, and the ‘innovative use of language,’ not only shaped the Church and its theology but also profoundly influenced spiritual culture more broadly. All of this reveals the enduring dynamism of the Greek language.”