Orthodox Christians’ attitude to the Creation, plants and animals

27/05/2022 01:00 AM ΕΕΤ

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

The creation is an enduring source of beauty and life, but also an enduring source of problems and questions for thinking people. The impressive presence of the cosmos and the wonderful manner in which it functions sparked need and interest in learning about its initial provenance. There was a desire to investigate and interpret its phenomena and to identify the purpose it serves. Furthermore, the determination that the existence of the creation is necessary for our own existence, survival, and development, that is, that we are in a direct relationship and dependent upon it, led to the search for an evaluation of the content of this relationship. The Church is not indifferent to what happens in the environment but rather attempts in a variety of ways to enlighten people and to create an environmental conscience within them. In this way they will learn to live in harmony with the environment, making proper use of it, in accordance with God’s command to our first ancestors in Paradise ‘to tend and watch over it.

If we study Holy Scripture, especially the book of Genesis, we see that God created the world “very well”. Unfortunately, however, the fall of humankind, our apostasy, and the severance of our relationship with God dragged the whole of creation down with us. When humankind, the crown of God’s creatures, tore up its creation in the image of God and became subject to its passions and weaknesses, it also brought creation into decay and destruction. The whole of creation raged and revolted against humankind. This was the beginning of the collapse of the harmonious relations between us and creation, of which we were the cause since we blighted our relationship with God. To this day, our apostasy from God results in a commensurate estrangement between us and creation, with humankind misusing and abusing creation by acting and behaving with greed and excess, without showing any respect at all for it. Pollution of rivers, seas, and the atmosphere, deforestation and the transformation of mountains into moonscapes, accumulation of radioactive waste in living beings, over-loading the atmosphere of the planet with carbon dioxide, overheating the planet and so many other things testify to the misuse and abuse of nature by human beings. Moreover, even beyond the inability of science to maintain equilibrium in the world, there is a great spiritual crisis.

All this bad and dangerous behavior towards the environment on our part constitutes a great problem in the ecological crisis. The ecological crisis has deep causes which start with people and embrace the whole spectrum of their life: religious, social, moral, economic aspects, and so on. Modern scientific means, technology, and planning are certainly required to deal with this problem. But even more so, what is required is us human beings. We need to acquire an environmental conscience and a sense of responsibility for our actions. We are called upon to love nature and live in harmony with it, with respect and sympathy, eliminating all division, competition, hostility, and tyrannical exploitation. People who cleanse their soul of their passions and weaknesses, are in proper communication with God, and have real knowledge of the world embrace the whole of creation with love.

Course Details

• Date: Thursday 26 May 2022
• Time: 7.00pm-9.30pm (EST)
• Price: Single Seminar Ticket: € 37, Full Series (13 Seminars) Tickets Bundle : € 337 (30% Discount)

16.00pm PDT Pacific Time | 23.00pm GMT Greenwich Mean Time | Friday 27 May 00.00am CET Central European Time | Friday 27 May 01:00 EST Eastern European Time | Friday 27 May 02:00 MSK Moscow Standard Time Time | Friday 27 May 08:00am JST Japan Standard Time | Friday 27 May 07:00am AWST Australian Western Time | Friday 27 May 09:30am ACDT Australian Central Time | Friday 27 May10:00am AEDT Australian Eastern Time |

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