ISTANBUL, Turkey | Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew warned that theology cannot retreat into isolation as artificial intelligence, biotechnology and the digital transformation reshape human life, saying that a permanently defensive attitude toward contemporary culture can lead to spiritual isolation and fundamentalism.
Speaking at the Phanar to a delegation from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki’s Department of Theology, Bartholomew said theology must remain in active dialogue with the intellectual, social and technological challenges of each generation.
He described theology not as “an abstract intellectual occupation” but as a way for the message of the Gospel to engage with the concerns and realities of every era.
Bartholomew said universities should serve as places of dialogue and intellectual openness, warning that “insularity, a permanent defensive