Ecumenical Patriarch calls for cooperation between Science and Faith

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received a delegation of medical professionals participating in a scientific meeting on protecting children from nicotine addiction on Thursday afternoon, November 5, 2026.

The delegation was led by Professor Panagiotis Behrakis, President of the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP).

Addressing the participants, the Ecumenical Patriarch emphasized the importance of cooperation between science and faith in promoting human well-being and protecting public health.

“Medicine is not a field of conflict between science and faith, but rather a space for cooperation between two great spiritual forces for the benefit of humanity,” Patriarch Bartholomew stressed.

He described scientific knowledge as one of the defining forces of the modern era, while emphasizing that scientific and technological progress alone cannot provide answers to humanity’s fundamental existential questions and ethical dilemmas.

“Scientific knowledge is the ‘great power’ of our time, claiming a decisive role in our present and future. However, despite the dizzying progress of science and technology, it becomes increasingly evident that answers to…