In a powerful address at the University of California, Los Angeles, His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia framed the environmental crisis as a profound spiritual and moral failure, urging humanity to act with sacred duty to avert planetary self-destruction. The lecture entitled “Saving Our Planet: A Top Global Priority,” took place on Tuesday at UCLA’s Fowler Museum and 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. The program began with remarks by Promise Armenian Institute Director Professor Ann Karagozian, who welcomed the Catholicos to UCLA, pointing out that the Pontiff had made prior presentations at the university on topics of great urgency not just for Armenians, but the world. Western Prelate Archbishop Kegham Kacherian then introduced the Catholicos, emphasizing the Pontiff’s work and influence among international religious and ecumenical circles. “Our planet is moving toward self-destruction,” the Catholicos 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 added. The Catholicos 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.” A reception followed the lecture, where Dr. Eric Israelian praised Catholicos as “a voice of conscience in our troubled world.” Also attending the event was Los Angeles City Council President Emeritus Paul Krekorian.