European Journal of Science and Theology, June 2005, Vol.1, No.

2, 35-44

_______________________________________________________________________
EASTERN ORTHODOX THEOLOGY AND PRACTICES
RELATED TO ECOLOGICAL ISSUES

Dan Sandu*

University “Al. I. Cuza”, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, 9 Closca, 700065 Iasi, Romania
(Received 13 May 2005, revised 23 May 2005)

Abstract

Ecology is the art of assuring the management of a house. In the Byzantine theology, the
house was both the home where each person fulfilled his or her vocation as social being,
as well as the inhabited area, which was regarded as a larger home, the inhabited world
or God's home. Technically speaking, the object of the study and knowledge of ecology
is the interaction between ecosystems, the practical wisdom of exploiting, maintaining
and communicating to the future generations the ecosystem that constitutes the life
environment of all living beings.

Keywords: eco-theology, ecology, pilgrimage, education, creation

1. The Creator’s rationality – the source of human rationality

The human person is seen in theological treatises as a priest or a crowning

of creation, owing both to the way he comes into being and to the responsibility
he is assigned in the created environment and in solidarity with it. In his
theology, St Basil states "creation must find its origin in a personal and
reasonable cause not in the idea that the humans have about creation" [1],
meaning that the humans, who were created "in God's image" (cf. Genesis 1:26),
are themselves rational. Being rational means being receptive and willing to
communicate, a view confirmed by the Holy Scripture which presents the
integrity of the human person as a dual element, the man and the woman, who
consciously and freely cultivate a relationship of communion and solidarity.
Communion means the shared veneration of the Creator, the recognition of His
authority as well as concrete examples of co-participation in His work.
The rationality of the human person, owing to his created nature, is visible
in the fact from the very beginning he had to make a rational and unrestrained
choice between pursuing the individual welfare and that of the environment he
was granted to live in. The biblical story of creation reveals several different
levels of representation, ascending from very simple to the complex, making
human beings understand that God is not only the Creator of the inert existence

*
e-mail: [email protected]
 Sandu/European Journal of Science and Theology 1 (2005), 2, 35-44

but also of the rational one be it the human persons or the angels, through whom
He communicates with the creation that lacks rationality. This is why St Gregory
of Nyssa affirmed that 'wisdom is contemplated in creation, which is the word,
albeit not formulated". The main rationale of the care for the creation was given
in the very fact that it is the fruit of God's personal, loving work, Who saw that
"it was very good." (Genesis 1:31) [2] Creation is therefore the result of the
work of a rational being, having definite role and purpose, having as His partner
the created rationale who was to become like God by His grace.
The linguistic account of the creation is plain, direct, without any
scientific pretence, because it renders an elementary reality that did not need to
be wrapped in a complex literary form, which would give rise to interpretations.
The text is even said to have a "ritualistic pace", conveying a sense of majesty
and a certain rhythm and a visual dynamic, especially when the text is listened to
[3]. The text itself is proof that it was not intended as a scientific representation
of the process of creation, but a lively image of the bounty of God, which we
experience again only in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation.
The creation itself contains in itself God's covenant with the human
person as a cosmic reality, as they include the whole created universe, through
the mediation of humanity which was entrusted the created things, that are
subject to annihilation or disappearance, or salvation. God wanted it from the
very beginning to be eternal, for “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable”
(Romans 11,29). The human persons were to lead the creation to eternity,
because not only humanity, but also the whole nature and the surrounding world
were created and destined for eternity.
Eventually, the human damaged their relation with God through a
personal mistake. His reason was darkened by the Devil to believe that he can be
independent of the Creator. This is why Christianity at large, and especially
Orthodoxy advocates the idea of restoration both of the human inner nature
corrupted by sin and of the liberation from the bonds of evil of the whole
creation, which exists in solidarity with the human. This can be achieved
through the purification of the mind and the soul, the release from the passions
that bind the human to the material goods, which become one’s goal in life and a
means of satisfying cravings, and which engender antagonisms between the
rational and irrational things and competition that concludes in extinction and
death.

2. Creation and sin

The human person was created in harmony with the whole universe,
having the mandate to remain in harmony with the Creator, by his own free will.
The account of creation reveals a glorious image of the universe acting upon
God's will: the waters separate, the sky appears, the seas calm down and
everything is part of a logical and harmonious process of organisation.
The human beings were there to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds
of the air… and over all the creatures” (Genesis 1,26), but he was the first to

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refuse to obey God, by a basic act of defiance: using matter irrationally for a
supposedly good purpose: being "like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis
3:5). More precisely, the visible sin consisted in taking, by their own will, more
than they needed, which caused a rift with the universe they lived in and
constant conflict with it (Genesis 2:16). The invisible part of the sin was the
human persons' arrogance and lack of respect towards Creation and its Creator.
The human person turns use into abuse, by self-sufficiency and greed. By this,
he turned out to be self-centred namely isolated by his own irrational desires.
The ecological problem is not therefore a recent issue, and has to do not only
with water, air and soil, but also with the health of soul and the awareness of
conscience. God calls attention to the primacy of spiritual health whenever He
heals any medical deficiencies and physical disabilities. The health of the soul,
understanding the ways God communicates with us, cannot be separated from
the health of the body and of the life environment, which have theological
connotations. One can support this statement by the numerous healings
performed by Jesus Christ proving His care for the human dignity and life as a
holistic reality. Yet He always linked bodily healing to the spiritual health. This
must be applied to environment, too: deprived of any spiritual value, the creation
seems to be justified only for the material exploitation of its resources.
The original sin was inter alii a revolt against moderation. The
responsibility of the human being is not confined only to the human dimension;
it has to do with the whole community and nature in its entirety [4]. The result of
sin is more conspicuous in suffering, pain and death (Genesis 3:16). The Garden
of Eden ceased to be beautiful and welcoming and sin did not affect the first
people only. The Holy Scripture of the Old Testament provides further examples
of the humans' hostility to Creation (Leviticus 18:25, Deuteronomy 29:22-25,
Amos 4:7 and Revelation 8:10-11).
In keeping with the precepts of the Scriptures, the human persons had the
right to "govern" the land, or to make it "comply with" higher principles, yet
later theologies interpreted them as a "right to exploit", considering that the
environment was given to the human beings so that they should satisfy their
needs and procure their happiness independently from divine will. According to
Bishop John Zizioulas the deliberate destruction of the environment is a sin, not
only as a matter of life and death, but also as one concerning the eternal life. The
loss is infinite and eternal [5]. The modern person is not different from the first
couple, as they consume more than they need, transforming feelings into
passions and necessity into greed.
The human being has always been one with nature in fall, the Apostle
Paul writing that the whole creation "groans under the burden of sin" (Romans
8:22), and it should be in redemption, too. Redemption is a process that has to do
both with the human person and with the creation, as both have to restore the
harmony with God, in a process that is called theosis or deification, becoming
like God, by God. A true Christian is not preoccupied with conquering nature
and dominating it, does not see his own personal initiative as a means of
achievement, does not claim the right to initiative, but is keenly aware that the

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universe is the macro-anthropos while the human person is a micro-cosmos. The

Church is the milieu where this view originates, the Church being the
sacramental body of Christ, extended in the world, which is "the icon of the
universe, made of visible and invisible essences, because like the world, the
cosmos contains unity and diversity, thus the created world is divided into a
spiritual world, full of essence, and a corporeal world, ingeniously created out of
various and numerous forms and essences." [6]
The most important problem facing the Churches today, both in a moral
and material form is poverty, its most dramatic form being famine. Securing
food for an increasing population is the main preoccupation of technology and
science nowadays, too. The errors lies in the fact that during the last decades this
concern was unilaterally directed towards improving the means of production
and multiplication and less towards the preservation of the created nature as a
gift given to all people. Thus, some still take more than they need, while others
starve. Morally, this is the discrepancy where the notion of "natural
contemplation" [7] disappears from theology and practice of Christian faith.

3. Church prayers and practices

The focal point of the Church's attitude and practices related to the
environment is the belief in God as a Trinity of Persons. This justifies the
sharing and continuous discovery of His Sacraments by the human persons and
of the human persons among them. One can even speak about a "mutual
revelation" occurring when people talk or pray together. God as source of
communion constantly communicates His love to the creation. This means that
the human beings have the daunting task of ensuring the survival of God’s
creation.
This is best seen in the liturgical experience of the Church, in which the
world is dynamically represented in each Holy Liturgy (Gr. leit-ourgos = "work
of the people"), also called the Eucharist (Gr. Euhariso = "to thank"). In the
Liturgy, not only the human is present, but also God, who sanctifies everything,
the invisible beings, the heavenly powers and the human beings, all united in
serving the Creator and respecting the creation, which is consecrated by the
priest and symbolically offered to God. The priest offering the gifts of bread and
wine before their transformation into the Body and Blood of Christ, in the Holy
Liturgy of John Chrisostom and Basil the Great that have been celebrated in the
Orthodox Church ever since fourth century, using the following pronouncement:
"Your own of Your own we offer to You all things, for all creation!" The human
being takes a piece of nature, which belongs to God, and lays his own mark,
reshaping it in a personal manner, and returns it to God in the form of bread and
wine, and He, in turn, communicates sacredness to the human being, who is
restored in communion with the Creator, through the sanctified gifts.
The Liturgy is essentially the transfiguration of nature by the sacramental
acts that unite all people, at all times and in all places, the earth and the heaven,
the visible and the invisible world, the created and the un-created. It involves

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sacrifice, because it is the bloodless re-enactment of Christ's sacrifice on the

Cross. From the liturgical sacramental space, sacrifice as renunciation of
personal desires and passions must enter into the living space of everyday life, as
the Romanian theologian Ion Bria said [8].
The Orthodox Church also has further ways of expressing involvement in
nature and in human life: prayers for the blessing of the land before sowing,
blessing of the harvests and the first crops, consecration of the waters at the
Epiphany and of the gifts brought to the Church for the Liturgy, of household
animals, prayers for restoration of health and for the sharing of God's grace with
people and their living environment in moments of crisis. The image of the
human beings living outside the rest of creation is false, and the current situation
of the environment reveals them being almost terrified and dependent on nature,
as described in Psalm 103: 15-17: "He makes grass grow for the cattle, and
plants for man to cultivate - bringing forth food from the earth: wine that
gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his
heart"

4. Ascetism – the most elaborated form of eco-theology

Ecology is not exclusively the science of administering the environment,

but also a matter of practical theology. While Western theology has often tended
to differentiate between the academic theology, that is the one of universities,
and practical theology, the one experienced in Christian communities,
Orthodoxy has formulated a complementary expression of theology and
spirituality. For instance, an ordinary day for a Christian living in a traditional
village of Romania begins with a morning prayer, followed by with work on the
land that provides sustenance, the thanksgiving prayer before and after each
meal, the practice of community life in the family, in the parish and in the
surrounding nature that is seen as a gift from God; the day ends with a prayer
expressing one's gratitude for the passing day and asking for peace in the night
to come.
Genuine Orthodoxy recommends temperance, as it does not see the
acquisition of goods as the calling of the modern man. It seeks to preserve the
boundary between nature as an object of human exploitation and nature as an
illusion, affirming that nature is the means by which the human can achieve
eternal life. It follows in the line of the Patristic teachings according to which
nature is not a "thing" but another being which co-operates with another nature
that is the human being [4, p. 209]. The practice of the Church is motivated
above all by the vision of man as a pilgrim on earth whose duty is to pass on a
wholesome environment for the future generations.
Ascetism represents the freely assumed pilgrimage and the harsh form of
care for the environment and of attention devoted to God, since its main message
is that it is not man, but God who dominates the earth and that man should
willingly obey God as this would be to his own advantage. The image of God in
man does not exclusively concern his soul, but also his body, which should be

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treated with moderation. Askesis - ascetism has been practised in Orthodoxy

from early Christianity until the present day and has a double dimension: the
abstention from giving the body what it desires through the concupiscence of sin
and also strengthening the will in refusing what is desirable for man and gladly
accepting what is pleasing to God (the daily practice of an ascetical monk,
obeying his spiritual father of the abbot, is a struggle to do what he does not to
do for the sake of higher ideals). The aim is to dominate sinful passions, to have
ascendancy over the material world by abstaining form what can be negative and
to restore the status man had in Paradise.
In parallel with the abstention from anything that can be spiritually
damaging, the ascetic intensifies the spiritual practise of liturgical life and the
permanent thanksgiving for what God has offered as his gift to the world. This is
why the monk spends much of his time praying and contemplating. The
moderation he exercises is the state of normality that Adam was not able to
respect in the Garden of Eden. For this reason the monk is also said to bear "the
angelic face". Besides the education of the human person abstinence means
respect for the creation, as the monk does not damage it or exploit it excessively,
because he only takes what nature has to offer. His attitude should not be seen as
hatred of whatever is natural or of the material world, but rather as a different
understanding of our divine gifts. In many cases, ascetic monks live in perfect
harmony not only with lifeless nature but also with the wild beasts that seem to
understand their spiritual message and work for the welfare of the human person.
By relying on reason and will, the monk or the hermit submits the material
world to spiritual ideals, such as the restraining of the primitive passions and
desires related to possession, reproduction and pride. What matters to the ascetic
monk s not the personal existence but the relationship with God and the fellow
human persons, the constant thanksgiving to the Creator, which has caused
certain theologians to call the Christian a "homo eucharisticus".
Ascetism denounces the world dominated by man without hating it or
man, but showing that the right way is totally different. The monk follows Joels'
exhortation: "Rend /our heart and not your garments" so that God should pour
out his spirit over all His people (Joel 2, 28).

5. An overview of the Romanian situation

One could not speak of "ecological awareness" during communism,

although depriving the people of access to material goods somehow protected
nature. A Swiss theologian visiting Romania in 1990 confessed: "the forests of
Romania are of a special kind. The trees are more healthy, and the forest has a
genuine wilderness which can no longer be seen in the West, where every tree is
inventoried." The situation has changed since then and the forests of Romania
are not the same. The communist agriculture damaged the soil through the
excessive use of chemical fertilisers aiming at ever increasing record crops. This
practice stopped after 1990 so that one can say that the Romanian village is not
seriously contaminated nowadays and genetically modified products have not

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yet been produced in Romania. There are certain laws regulating environmental
protection yet their implementation largely depends on time and a change of
mentality, such as: the Government's Ordinance 34/2000 concerning ecological
products; Law no. 166/2002 regarding forest exploitation; Government Decision
no. 917/2001 containing methodological norms for the implementation of
ecological legislation. Romania has also closed the negotiations with the EU on
ecological issues, in view of the imminent integration and will also adopt the
specific EU legislation.
The environment has a low profile in Romania. There are several causes
for this situation: one of the chief causes is the ambiguous land ownership and
redistribution law, which has caused excessive delays. Arable land and forests
are not considered private property so that land exploitation has been
unsystematic.
There is also the remarkable increase in the number of private cars, most
of which are highly pollutant and the deforestation of mountains to produce raw
timber, sold at a very low price compared to the European market. This has also
a social consequence for many local workers lose their jobs. Another source of
pollution are the industrial units using outdated equipment lacking proper filters
and often releasing highly pollutant substances in rivers, which has led to several
ecological disasters. Among the most significant ones, during the last period, we
need to mention the pollution of the rivers Lăpuş and Tisa, caused by an incident
at the gold mine Aurul Baia Mare; the pollution of the rivers Lăpuş and Tisa, in
the year 2000; pollution of the river Siret in 2001; Arieş, etc. through accidents
caused mainly by negligence and the managers’ lack of environmental
conscience.
The Church is highly aware of the ecological imperatives and the need for
intensified cooperation to achieve them. But to the general concerns such as less
contaminated air and water, biodiversity, wholesome fertile soil, reducing the
loss of nutrients through levigation, fighting soil erosion, economical use of
water, nutritive quality of ecological products, reduced use of non-renewable
resources, protecting the environment for the future generations, work and
sustenance alternatives for families in rural areas, she adds the spiritual
dimension because the world must realise that the issue at stake is not how we
live, but the life in itself. However, her voice is silent or silenced by the social,
economic, and political factors that see “development” as a more important
priority than the ecological issues.

6. Initiatives and facts: a Romanian case

The sustainability of the environment is, from the religious point of view,
first and foremost, a question of divine decision: "when you take away their
breath, they die and return to the dust" (Psalm 103:30). This is what the modern
human being ignores, while acting like God’s substitute, who presumably owns
the environment. This must be part of the eco-theological education developed

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by the Church in cooperation with educational bodies, restoring in the mind of

the modern man the role of God in the creation.
In a recent article, a Romanian journalist was asking rhetorically: will
Romania stay as an oasis of natural fertile land in the sea of chemically modified
Europe, or will it spoil its land for the sake of larger production? Romanians are
at present concerned more with reshaping the map of properties, meaning that
the land, which was abusively taken by the communist state from the owners,
must be given back and this question will not get a quick answer. The process
takes a long time, although it is on the right track.
The future integration in Europe contributes to the Church’s
understanding that resources need to be used efficiently; its guiding principle is
that the presence of the Church and of the parish or monastic community should
not have any damaging influence on the environment. From the very beginning,
those who established monasteries made sure that the monastic settlements
would not be conflict with the surroundings and would not exploit its resources
unwisely.
The Romanian Orthodox Church owns a little part of the arable land and
of the forests, being able constitute a model of care for a sustainable eco-
management and agriculture. There is a concern to promote ecological
production on Church lands. To achieve this goal the Church needs the input and
collaboration of professional and specialised institutions, which can offer the
necessary training and information regarding this type of agriculture. Romanian
monastic lands are known everywhere for such natural products as: therapeutic
herbals, wild berries, and medicinal teas. Even the monastic diet allows a gentle,
considerate approach of nature, in view of the fact that about half of the ecclesial
year is made up of periods of fasting, the monks thus taking only what nature
offers them.
The Church carries out its activities in the rural areas of Romania against
a background of poverty. On one hand people need at least some land and
nourishment and on the other hand their education is limited. The overemphasis
on industry during communist years caused many Romanians to migrate to the
urban areas. Now, with the closing down of the inefficient industrial plants,
people return to villages where they have to start a new life. This is a new
environment where the education for ecologically aware agriculture should be
promoted. In this field, the Church has been a partner of various specialised EU
and US organisations and foundations such as: World Vision International, but
the results are yet too modest.
The priest plays an important role, as he is, traditionally, the person with
the greatest authority in the rural community. A pilot-programme has been
implemented in a poor parish near the city of Iasi, where the priest has
implemented various programmes. In some parishes – a foundation set up by the
village priest has developed links with the EU-funded Romanian Fund for Social
Development (F.R.D.S.), S.A.P.A.R.D., Phare and USAID. With input from
World Vision International and other international bodies they have
implemented a programme for small size farms (raising animals, greenhouses for

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vegetables) – all in an area often affected by floods and by river pollution, with
access to only one source of fresh drinking water.
In the long run, the Church could be involved in educating people through
the media it owns, by establishing protected areas, especially around the
monasteries, now exploited by tourists, setting up information and support
centres for ecological farming.

7. Education for ecology: the theology of pilgrimage

The tradition of pilgrimage has an important role in Romania. In the

Orthodox tradition pilgrimage involves struggle and renunciation. Thus, the
pilgrims visit and worship holy sites, monasteries, icons or burial grounds of
great Church personalities without expecting top-class board and lodging
facilities. Quite often pilgrimage is seen as an exclusively spiritual endeavour
during which one has to eat sparingly, walk a lot, sleep less and in modest
conditions, and make offerings to the poor and to the holy site.
The Romanian Orthodox Church has set up several Pilgrimage centres
that provide specific services and also promote ecological education. The
pilgrim is required to have a decent and deferent behaviour in the monastery and
the surrounding area and towards the monastic community, which abides by
different laws than the lay world.
The pilgrim is seeking spiritual meanings in creation, is fully aware of the
need to respect life as a gift of God and aims to achieve communion with God,
with himself and his fellows, and with nature. Pilgrim guides or tour leaders seek
to promote the awareness of Church membership and the significance of
Christian identity and of the responsibility towards God's creation. The Church
has initiated educational pilgrimage programmes for young people as well as
spiritual ones for the elderly.
For all pilgrims, the encounter with the sacred milieu of a monastery is a
personal experience that makes them aware of the harmony between man and
nature, in those distant places in the mountains and forests, where monks and
nuns consecrate the waters and the crops and practise intense fasting and
contemplation. The education through pilgrimages is an alternative to the
"temptations" of the modern world that foster violence, indifference and
inhumanity.

References

[1] G. Popa, Teologie şi ecologie. Câteva repere hermeneutice pentro o eco-teo-logie

creştină, in Proc. of 16th Symp. on Human Ecology, V. Bejan (ed.), Axis, Iasi,
1999, 10-30.
[2] St. Gregory of Nyssa, Hexaemeron, P.G. 44, 73 C, p. 69.
[3] S. Mc Donagh, Spirituality, 1(2) (1995) 92.
[4] E. Clapsis, Orthodoxy in Conversation. Orthodox Ecumenical Engagements, WCC
Publications, Geneva, 2000, 210.

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[5] M. Polany, Personal Knowledge. Toward a Post-Critical Philosophy, Routlege

and Kegan Paul, London, 1978, 118.
[6] V. Rossi, l'Ecologiste, 3(9) (2003) 59.
[7] A.G. Keselopoulos, Man and the Environment, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press,
Crestwood, New York, 2001, 103.
[8] I. Bria, Liturghia după Liturghie, Athena, Bucuresti, 1996, 153.

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