«ՄԵՐ ԱՊՐԱԾ ԵՐԿԻՐ ՄՈԼՈՐԱԿԻՆ ՓՐԿՈՒԹԻՒՆԸ ԱՆՅԵՏԱՁԳԵԼԻ ՀՐԱՄԱՅԱԿԱՆ Է»
ԱՐԱՄ Ա. ԿԱԹՈՂԻԿՈՍ
In a powerful address at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), His Holiness Catholicos Aram I framed the ecological crisis as a profound spiritual and moral failure, urging humanity to act with sacred duty to avert planetary self-destruction.
The October 28, 2025, lecture, titled “Saving Our Planet: A Top Global Priority,” was met with a receptive audience of faculty, students, and community leaders. The event was jointly organized by UCLA’s Promise Armenian Institute and the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Church.
“Our planet is moving toward self-destruction,” His Holiness began, moving beyond what he called the superficial terms of “global warming” to identify the core issue. “This is not only a scientific problem; it is a spiritual and moral one. Humanity has broken its covenant with creation.”
He rooted his argument in the Book of Genesis, reminding attendees that humans are not owners of the Earth, but its stewards before God. “We have misused this divine trust, turning creation into a tool for self-interest and greed,” he stated.
To restore balance, Catholicos Aram I proposed a four-fold path:
Produce Less, but Better: Prioritize high-quality goods over quantity, avoiding materials that harm nature.
Reduce Consumption: Curb excesses that create moral and ecological imbalance.
Balance Population Growth: Respect the finite limits of the planet’s resources.
Embrace Renewables: Use God’s gifts, like solar and wind, wisely to avoid waste.
“The heart of the crisis is the human heart itself,” he concluded. “Earth is humanity’s only home. Saving it may now be more urgent than saving ourselves.”
The evening opened with welcoming remarks from Dr. Ann Karageozian of the Promise Armenian Institute and a tribute from Archbishop Kegham Khacherian, who honored the Catholicos as a “spiritual leader of global stature.” A reception followed, where Professor Eric Israelyan praised His Holiness as “a voice of conscience in our troubled world
