Essential principles of the social conception of the Russian Orthodox Church. Orthodox, Man and Environment

Essential principles of the social conception of the Russian Orthodox Church XIII. Church and environmental issues Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church 14-16 August, 2000

ON MAIN ENGLISH PAGE

XIII.1. The Orthodox Christian Church, conscious of its responsibility for the fate of the world, is deeply concerned over the problems created by modern civilization. Of paramount importance are the ecological problems. The face of the Earth is being disfigured on a global scale. Negative changes have affect soil, water, air, flora and fauna. Nature has become almost completely integrated into humans’ infrastructures. People are no longer satisfied with its diverse gifts and exploit whole ecosystems in an unrestrained way. Human activity, whose scale is comparable to that of the biospheric processes, is constantly increasing as a result of the accelerated science and technology progress. Pollution of the environment with industrial waste, ill-conceived agricultural practices, destruction of forests and soil result in the suppression of biological activity and steady diminishing of genetic diversity. Non-renewable mineral resources are being exhausted, as are the supplies of clean water. Many new pollutants are being produced which do not participate in the nature’ cycles and accumulate in the biosphere. The environmental balance is broken; the humankind faces irreversible harmful processes, including the undermining of the nature’s reproduction capability.

All this is happening in the context of an unprecedented and unjustified growth of consumption in industrialised countries, where the aspiration to luxury and abundance has become a rule. This situation creates obstacles to a fair distribution of natural resources which represent common heritage of mankind. The effects of the ecological crisis are painful not only for the nature but also for humans who are organically connected with it. As a result, the Earth finds itself on the verge of a global ecological disaster.

XIII.2. Relations between humans and the environment were upset in the prehistoric times as a result of the Fall of man and his consequent alienation from God. The sin that was conceived in the human soul had an adverse impact both on the humankind and on the surrounding world. According to St Paul "…the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by him who subjected it, In hope that the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth together and travaileth together until now” (Romans. 8:20-22). The nature, like a mirror, reflected man’s first crime. According to the Scriptures, the seed of sin, which affected the human heart, grew “thorns and thistles” on the earth (Genesis, 3:18). The organic unity of humankind and nature, which had existed before the original sin, became impossible. (Genesis 2:19-20). In their relations with nature, that now had acquired a consumerist character, people became increasingly guided by egotistical motives. They forgot that God is the only Ruler of the universe, to whom belongs "heaven and …the earth, with all that is therein" (Deut. 10:14), while man, according to St John Chrysostom, is just a "housekeeper", entrusted with the riches of the created world. These riches include "the air, the sun, water, the earth, the sky, sees, the light, stars”, which, St John states, God "divided equally between humans, as if between brothers". "Dominion" over nature and "earth" (Genesis. 1:28), to which man is called, in God’s scheme does not amount to permissiveness. It just demonstrates that man is the image-bearer of the heavenly Housekeeper and as such must, according to St Gregory of Nysse, display his royal dignity not in the suppression of the environment but in the “dressing” and “keeping” (Genesis. 2. 15) of the majestic kingdom of nature, for which he is responsible before God.

XIII.3. The ecological crisis makes us rethink our relations with the environment. Today we hear increasing criticism concerning the concept of humans’ domination over nature and consumerist attitudes. The understanding of the fact that modern society has to pay a very high price for the boons of civilization triggers resistance to economic egotism. Thus, people are identifying the kinds of activities that damage the environment; they are developing a system of environment protection, reconsidering economic management methods, working on resource-saving and waste-free technologies compatible with nature’s cycles. Ecological ethics is being developed as well. Environmentally conscious citizens criticize the consumerist way of life, demand to increase ethic and legal responsibility for environmental abuses, encourage ecological education, and call for joined efforts in environmental protection on the basis of a large scale international cooperation.

XIII.4. Orthodox Christian Church appreciates efforts aimed at overcoming the ecological crisis and calls for an active cooperation in public campaigns designed to protect God’s creation. It stresses, at the same time, that the efficiency of these efforts will grow if the relations between humans and nature have not purely humanistic but Christian foundation. One of the major principles of the Church’s position regarding environmental issues is the principle of unity and wholeness of the world created by God. Orthodox Christianity does not view nature as an isolated closed structure. Plant, animal and human worlds are interrelated. From a Christian point of view, nature is not a container of resources meant for selfish and irresponsible consumption, but a house in which man is not the owner but a housekeeper. Besides, nature is seen as a temple where man is a priest, worshipping, though, not the nature itself but the only Creator. The interpretation of nature as a temple is based on the idea of theocentrism: God, giving "all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17: 25), is the source of existence. That is why life in its multiple manifestations has a sacred character, being a divine gift; defying it is a challenge against both the creation and the Lord Himself.

XIII.5. Ecological problems have an anthropological character being caused by man, not the nature. That is why solutions to many of the problems of the current environmental crisis should be looked for in the human soul, not in the spheres of economy, biology, technology or politics. Nature is transformed or destroyed only through human activity. Man’s spiritual condition plays a crucial role because it affects nature either through external action or the absence of it. Ecclesiastical history has seen many examples of the salutary influence of saints on living creatures through their love for nature, praying for the surrounding world and compassion.

The interrelation of anthropology and ecology is fully revealed at the present time when the world is going through two crises – spiritual and ecological ones. In modern society people often lose the understanding of life as a divine gift; the meaning of life is sometimes reduced to physical existence. With such attitude, nature cannot be seen as a house or a temple, and becomes a “habitat”. A spiritually degrading person causes degradation in nature since he is not able to exert a transforming influence on the world. The humankind blinded by the sin cannot benefit even from the colossal technological advances: if people are indifferent to the meaning of life, the mystery and wonder of life, they will never do any good but will rather cause damage. If an individual has no spiritual aims, the technological might is likely to give rise to utopian hopes for the unlimited possibilities of the human intellect and social progress.

It is impossible to overcome the ecological crisis in the conditions of a spiritual crisis. This does not mean that Christian Church calls for curtailing environment protection activities. Yet, it links the hope for positive changes in the humans-nature relations to public desire of a spiritual rebirth. The anthropogenic roots of ecological problems prove the fact that we change the world in accordance with our internal world, so the transformation of nature should start with the transformation of the human soul. According to St Maxim the Confessor, man can transform the Earth into a paradise only if he has a paradise within.

Ð¡Ð°Ð¹Ñ‚ ÑƒÐ¿Ñ€Ð°Ð²Ð»ÑÐµÑ‚ÑÑ ÑÐ¸ÑÑ‚ÐµÐ¼Ð¾Ð¹ uCoz