After Donald Trump became president of the United States, he unleashed economic weaponisation, upsetting the old world order, leading to much unrest.
If that wasn't all, the threat of an imminent nuclear war was issued by the US, Russia, China, North Korea and Pakistan.
In today's fractious times, Dr Paulos Mar Gregorios would have made a dent, notes His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III.
The world today is at the crossroads. Global peace and security are at risk more than ever before and peace seems a distant chimera.
In the last few years, we have seen armed conflicts erupting -- between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Hamas, India and Pakistan and civil war in Yemen, to name just a few.
We have also seen posturing of war from the United States, China, Taiwan and North Korea.
After Donald Trump became president of the United States, he unleashed economic weaponisation through tariff threats and immigration regulations, upsetting the old world order and leading to much unhappiness and unrest.
If that wasn't all, the threat of an imminent nuclear war was issued by the US, Russia, China, North Korea and Pakistan.
Ironically, in this environment, the United Nations seems like a feeble bystander who is unable to play any major role in stemming the brewing unrest to bring about global peace and reconciliation.
Against this backdrop, we miss the sage counsel and active participation of the late His Grace Dr Paulos Mar Gregorios of the Indian Orthodox Church (Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church) who passed away in 1996.
He was one of the tallest leaders of the world and his thoughts, ideas and views would have acted as a salve in today's fractured world.
A man of immense erudition and wisdom, he strived to have inter-faith dialogue with various leaders and communities.
He was multi-lingual and proficient in English, French, German and Malayalam and easily mixed with ecumenical and political leaders, furthering the cause of world peace.
Some of these famous personalities he hobnobbed with include Mikhail Gorbachev, then president of the Soviet Union; Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia; Raymond Edward Stewart, secretary, World Peace Council; then President K R Narayanan and Justice V R Krishna Iyer.
He would have made a world of a difference today.
And that is why in his remembrance the Indian Orthodox Church instituted the Paulos Mar Gregorios Award which honours those who have distinguished themselves in various fields.
This year it will be given to Dr Tessy Thomas, popularly known as the Missile Woman of India, on November 30.
Almost five decades back, almost prophetically, Bishop Gregorios spoke about the urgent need for nuclear disarmament.
From 1975 till his passing away in 1996, he wrote a number of articles and books and gave many talks on this subject.
As far back as 1976, he had calculated that about $400 billion was being spent on 'useless armament' that was a 'colossal waste of human efforts and of the limited resources of our planet'.
He argued that any major discussions on peace possibilities should not be just the plain vanilla peace in favour of imperialism, colonialism and economic exploitation of weaker nations, but that it should be 'peace with justice'.
Two, he said that not too often do political leaders' faith have any significance in a global social and societal context.
But he saw that then US president Ronald Reagan's nuclear policy was impacted by the Scriptures, particularly the Book of Revelations in the Bible.
It spoke of the Armageddon and the end of the world. President Reagan's mentor was Reverend Jerry Falwell, the head of the religious group, Moral Majority.
Third, he spoke of the need for the Asia-Pacific region to emerge strongly against western powers, especially Europe and the United States.
One way to reach that goal is to be economically self-reliant and self-sufficient rather than open up markets to transnational corporations.
Dr Paulos Mar Gregorios' views on these issues in the eighties and nineties now seem almost prophetic.
When viewed against the happenings of today, he was not far from the truth.
If he posited that global military spending was $400 billion then, today, according to the highly regarded Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the world military expenditure has reached $2,718 billion in 2024, an increase of 9.4 per cent in real terms from 2023 and the steepest year-on-year rise since at least the end of the cold war.
Military spending increased in all world regions, with particularly rapid growth in both Europe and the Middle East.
The top five military spenders -- the United States, China, Russia, Germany and India -- accounted for 60 per cent of the global total, with a combined spending of US$1635 billion, according to the latest data from SIPRI.
I am not an expert on economic matters, but even a common man can understand what is happening today.
I have been told that President Trump's new tariff regime has upset the entire global economy, including India.
While the good news is that Indians in poverty declined from 531 million to 75 million by 2022, we still have a long way to go.
IMAGE: His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews IIIEstimates suggest that there are more than 2.5 billion Christians in the world today and the total Indian population (all religions) is about 1.4 billion.
The present goal should to care for humanity for whom Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life.
The vision of a 'just peace' envisaged by Dr Paulos Mar Gregorios over than three decades back is more relevant today than ever before.
As Christ said, 'Behold I make all things new.' That new comes from Christ's love for all humanity and creation.
His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III is the Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
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