NATURE THEOLOGY |
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Nature Theology Within Russian Orthodox Christianity, by Christie Gibbons, page 7 Voicu brings to light one misconception of the ecological crisis, saying: Some have considered that part of the crisis is the population growth, but population in and of itself does not cause the degradation of the ecosystem; rather, it is the manner in which humans make use of the habitat and scientific advances. 63 It may be that the growing population itself is not the problem, but rather how that population lives. Yet, how does one go about changing the way of living for the whole of humanity? One main idea of the Orthodox Church is that if there is soon to be any reintegration of creation, words of repentance must be spoken, and commitments must be made to form new ways of living for all. Reverend Harakas thinks it fair to say that “all of us are sinners against the environment. And we need to repent.” 64 Likewise, common Orthodox Christian thought says: The contemporary world must repent for the abuses which we have imposed upon the natural world, seeing it in the same kind of relationship to us as we see the unity of our human nature in both body and soul…For ourselves, this means a recommitment to the simple life which is content with necessities and - with the Church Fathers- sees unnecessary luxuriousness as the deprivation of necessities owed to the poor. 65 The only appropriate Orthodox Christian response to sin is repentance, a change of mind, an entire re-orientation of life. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew once said: The ecological problem of our times demands a radical re-evaluation of our understanding of how we see the entire world: it demands another interpretation of matter and the world; another perception of the attitude of humankind towards nature, and another understanding of how we acquire and make use of our material goods. 66 Reverend Harakas concurs, claiming that repentance requires that all humanity “be turned from self-interest and egocentricism to true love, concern and care for others and for all of God’s creation.” 67 The 1987 Report of the World Church Council Inter-Orthodox Consultation echoes Harakas’ thought, stating : In our selfishness and greed we have used our otherwise good technological abilities to exploit God’s creation, and to destroy the balance of nature and to deform what God originally made to be in wholesome communion with us and with Him. Creation is no longer integrated with humanity nor is it in harmony with God…We must see the created world as our own home...68 Yet, if humankind were to truly repent of their earth-harming ways, how would such repentance manifest itself within the Russian Orthodox Church? Would it be necessary for all people to go before a Russian Orthodox priest who stands in his stole beside a desk on which lie a Crucifix and the Book of the Gospels? Would it be necessary to come up separately one after the other and bow down to the ground as before Christ Himself in penance for the harm done to the earth? Would the Father Confessor recite Psalm 51 and pray asking God to grant us true repentance and forgiveness? Would he then remind us that “Christ Himself invisibly stands here to receive thy confession”...that we must “Be not ashamed or afraid and hide nothing”…so that we may “receive forgiveness from Our Lord Jesus Christ…”? Would it be necessary to then humbly confess all our sins and faults that have proven harmful to the earth, hiding nothing and answering all questions truthfully? Would the confessor then tell us to bow our heads and kneel, covering our heads with his stole, laying his hand on it and praying that God may grant us true repentance? Would he then give us the absolution: “Our Lord and God, by the grace and compassion of His love of man, forgive thee, my child (name), all thine iniquities. And I, unworthy priest, by the power that is given me, forgive thee and loosen thee from all thy sins (here making the sign of the cross on our heads), in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”? Would we then rise from our knees forgiven and made clean again by the grace received through the laying-on of the priest’s hand? Perhaps such formal penitence is necessary in order for humankind to turn from their harmful actions toward the natural environment. If so, the Sacrament of Penance would be to our advantage, for the Russian Orthodox Christian the Church is our Mother, all are her children. Her children can always come to her, good or bad, happy or sad. She is believed to be always there, ready to love, forgive and help her children. There is no sin that she is unwilling to forgive, not even ecological sin. To curb such prevalent ecological sin, Patriarch Bartholomew advocates for a radical change in the ecological worldview of humankind, saying: [Hu]mankind today must change its position with regard to the natural environment. This is a necessary pre-requisite for mankind’s changing the meaning, which it gives to matter and the world. Ecology cannot inspire a respect for nature if it does not express a different cosmology (that is, a different world-view) from that which prevails…today. 69 Such a radical change in cosmology is echoed in the 1987 Report of the World Church Council Inter-Orthodox Consultation, which states: Humanity can no longer ignore its responsibility to protect it [creation] and preserve it…The Lord God created His universe and all that is in it as an integrated whole. Today, we have brought about disintegration in what God intended to be integrated. We call upon individuals, nations and churches to give effect to a vision of the rightful harmony between the human dimension and the mineral, plant and animal dimensions of the creation. In spirit and in body, we are called to offer the whole of God’s creation back to Him as a sacrament and as an offering cleansed, purified, restored for His sanctification of it. 70 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 63 Voicu, Orthodox Theology and the Problems of the Environment. 64 Harakas, ‘The Earth Is The Lord’s’: Orthodox Theology And The Environment. 65 An extract from the Report of the World Church Council Inter-Orthodox Consultation, October 1987. 66 Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as cited by Harakas, ‘The Earth Is The Lord’s’: Orthodox Theology And The Environment. 67 Harakas, ‘The Earth Is The Lord’s’: Orthodox Theology And The Environment. 68 An extract from the Report of the World Church Council Inter-Orthodox Consultation, October 1987. 69 Patriarch Bartholomew as cited by Harakas, ‘The Earth Is The Lord’s’: OrthodoxTheology And The Environment. 70 An extract from the Report of the World Church Council Inter-Orthodox Consultation, October 1987. |
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