NEW YORK —
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received the Human Dignity Award from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) at the New York Hilton this morning, November 1, 2021. AJC President Harriet Schleifer, AJC Chair of Interreligious Affairs Bobi Baruch, and AJC Director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations Rabbi Noam Marans presented the award, which is an exact facsimile leaf of Genesis chapter 1 in the Kennicott Bible, an illuminated Hebrew Bible from medieval Spain.
Rabbi Marans stated that the award recognizes the Ecumenical Patriarch’s “singular care for humanity and the environment, exceptional commitment to interreligious coexistence, and indispensable advancement of Orthodox-Jewish relations”.
Reflecting on the title of the award, “Human Dignity,” His All-Holiness said that “we are reminded of our common biblical understanding of what it means to be created in God’s image and likeness. Our dignity as human being depends on the sacredness of God’s image in us” adding that “the key to guaranteeing human dignity as the bedrock to human existence is freedom. It is our prayer to the almighty God that all human beings may enjoy the fullest measure of freedom, as Saint Paul reminds us, and use this freedom to “serve one another through love”” (Galatians 5:13).
After the presentation, His All-Holiness visited the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, where he blessed Archdiocesan staff in the Chapel of Saint Paul and later attended a luncheon for New York religious leaders. Those in attendance included His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York; Rabbi Arthur Schneier; His Grace Bishop David, President of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches; His Excellency Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, Permanent Observer to the United Nations; and Rev. Joseph McShane, S.J., President of Fordham University.
In his remarks, Cardinal Dolan said of the Ecumenical Patriarch that, “You are an icon to us. I am told that when you look at an icon, you look through an icon to the beyond. And when we see you, when we watch you, we sense the transcendent, we sense the beyond, we sense the spiritual. And we need that very, very much.”
His All-Holiness noted -among others- that “despite the many challenges of our time, despite the fear of those who content themselves with the clash of civilizations, despite the rise of religious intolerance, fundamentalism, hatred, and anti-Semitism, we should stay firm and promote an ethos of dialogue and solidarity. We try — in faithfulness to our respective faith traditions — to promote the creation of bridges respectful of the beliefs of the others in a spirit of peace and solidarity”.
The Ecumenical Patriarch will also attend a private dinner hosted by His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America tonight.
