November 13, 2000

Distinguished guests, I greet all of you with great joy. For whatever reason you may be present, either because you work together with Scenic Hudson, or else because you are connected with Orthodox Christianity, you share a love and respect toward God’s creation. I assure you that the Church loves and respects you and your work on behalf the environment.

In events such as this, one clearly speaks on behalf of the one bestowing, but also on behalf of the one receiving the award. The Scenic Hudson organization, well known for its efforts to protect Storm King Mountain, was one of the first voices of environmentalism in this land. Thirty years later, it remains of the most efficient organizations of its kind. We wish you many years of fruitful service in this critical and vital issue for all humankind.

For many years now, the Orthodox Ecumenical Throne has devoted itself to the service of the protection of the environment. With great interest and sincere anxiety, we have followed the efforts to address the destructive side effects of humanity upon the world of nature. These effects have also a negative influence upon human beings themselves. With much trepidation, we now realize the dangerous consequences of human apathy concerning the survival of creation, which include the survival of humankind itself.

It is for this reason that I am accepting this award in the name of my illustrious predecessor, Patriarch Demetrios. He is the one who invited the entire world to offer, together with the Holy Great Church of Christ, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, prayers of thanksgiving, but also prayers of supplication for the protection of God’s gift of creation. Thus, as of 1989, the beginning of the new ecclesiastical year, commemorated and celebrated September 1^st, has been designated for all Orthodox Christians as a day of prayer for the protection of the environment.

The Contribution of Orthodoxy

Beyond any stereotype, the following question would be absolutely justified: In what way can Orthodoxy contribute to the movement for the protection of the environment? By the grace of God, there is one concrete response. We believe that through our unique liturgical and ascetical ethos, the spiritual teaching of the Orthodox Church may provide important theoretical and deontological direction for the care of our planet earth.

The spiritual root of our pollution, and our sin against the world, consists in our refusal to face life and the world as God’s gift to humankind, which humans have to utilize with discernment, with respect, and with thanksgiving. In the Orthodox Church, we call this the “Mystery (or, the Sacrament) of the Holy Eucharist,” in which we return in thanksgiving to Christ the entire creation. We do this out of gratitude to Him, who was crucified on behalf of the world; we do this in the framework of the Eucharistic celebration, during which His sacrifice on the Cross is repeated in a sacramental way. “We offer Your own gifts from Your own gifts,” we exclaim as we offer the bread and wine, basic elements of the natural creation, in order to be changed by the Holy Spirit and become the Body and Blood of Christ, namely the gifts of our continual communion with God.

Thus, we believe that our first duty is to stimulate the human conscience to realize that, when human beings utilize the resources and the elements of our planet, they should do this in a devout and Eucharistic way. Ultimately, to the benefit of our posterity, we should consider every act through which we abuse the world, as having an immediate negative effect upon the future of our environment, as relating to the prosperity of our world. The heart of the relationship between humans and their prosperity is found in the relationship between humans and their environment. The way in which we face our environment reflects upon the way we behave toward one another; more specifically, it reflects upon the way in which we relate to our children, to those born and those who are yet to be born.

A Seamless Garment

Human beings and the environment compose a seamless garment of existence, a multi-colored cloth, which we believe to be woven in its entirety by God. Human beings are created by God as spiritual beings, reflecting the image of God (Gen. 1.26). However, human beings are also created by God from material nature, from the dust of the earth. Consequently, we are called to recognize this interdependence between our environment and ourselves. This interconnectedness between ourselves and our environment lies in the center of our liturgy. St. Maximus the Confessor, during the seventh century, described this liturgy as being beyond a divine or mere human liturgy. We cannot avoid our responsibility toward our environment and toward our fellow human beings, who are negatively affected as by its deterioration.

In the Orthodox Church, there is also the ascetical element, which requires voluntary restraint regarding the use of material goods, and which leads to a harmonious symbiosis with the environment. We are required to practice “restraint” (the theological term in Greek is enkrateia). When we curb our own desire to consume, we guarantee the existence of treasured things for those who come after us, and the balanced functioning of the ecosystem. Restraint frees us from selfish demands, so that we may offer and share what remains, placing it at the disposal of others. Otherwise, we are characterized by avarice, which has its roots in lack of faith and the worship of matter, which we consider idolatry. Restraint is an act of humility and self-control, of faith and confidence in God. It is also an act of love. There are Christians, who voluntarily deprive themselves of their due portion, and exercise restraint, in order to share with those who have a greater need. This ascetical spirit gives us the example according to which we may live by being satisfied with what is needed, without collecting needless things, without consumerism that leads to exploiting and lording it over nature. This voluntary ascetical life is not required only of the anchorite monks. It is also required of all Orthodox Christians, according to the measure of balance. Asceticism, even the monastic such, is not negation, but a reasonable and tempered utilization of the world.

Redressing a Balance: The Impact of an Orthodox Monk

It was correctly stated that a human being who has lost the self-consciousness of the divine origin, of humanity created in the likeness of God, has also lost the sense of divine destiny. In a word, such a person has lost self-esteem as a human being reflecting the image of God and has tried to make up for this loss by increasing material goods, over which one may have control. When one’s “being” is decreased, one’s need for “having” is increased. Consequently, the consciousness that a Christian has of his or her existence, makes superfluous the need for consumerism and the accumulation of material goods. For this reason the seventh-century hermit on Mt. Sinai, St John of the Ladder, said: “A monk without possessions is master of the entire world.” And Saint Paul recommends the avoidance of avarice, when he writes: “As we have food and clothing, let them suffice to us” (I Tim. 6.8).

Therefore, the Orthodox ascetical life is not an escape from society and the world, but a way of self-sufficient social life and behavior, which leads to a reasonable use and not an abuse of material goods. The opposite worldview leads to consumerism, to an excessive drawing from the productive ecosystem, a reversal of its balance, its destruction, and, in the long run, to an inability to survive as environment and as race. The Orthodox ascetic attitude seems to be passive; it appears not to impose any method of dealing with and solving the environmental problems of our time. However, just as the individual actions of tens of thousands of members of society produce great pollution, so the voluntary restraint of an Orthodox monk is of great benefit for all.

Repentance over our past mistakes regarding the environment is indispensable and useful. Unfortunately, humanity has become intoxicated by its technological possibilities and behaves tyrannically toward the environment. Humankind ignores the fact that silent nature will take its revenge – perhaps slowly, almost unnoticeably, but inevitably and surely.

Environmental Rights

Unfortunately, avarice and excessive exploitation, with no regard for their consequences, are a usual phenomenon. If we were to behave toward the possessions of our fellow human beings in the same way that we behave toward the environment, we would suffer legal sanctions and expect compensation for damages. We would have use legal remedies to restore the damages and return the stolen property to its legitimate proprietor. Our behavior would be characterized as anti-social, if we were to offend our fellow human beings.

 From the declarations of human rights, we gather on the one hand that most of the environmental goods – like air, water and the like – are not able to become private property; on the other hand, their possession demands a proportionate legal and canonical obligation, which cannot be ignored. Whatever use by the possessor contradicts the social obligation and usefulness of this good is prohibited as abusive and is subject, or should be subject, to legal sanctions.

The imposition of such sanctions does not belong to the realm of the Church, which addresses itself to the self-consciousness of humanity and requires voluntary compliance. This compliance is accompanied by the obvious alarm that disrespect toward nature constitutes a sin against the love for God and humanity as well as against God’s creation. According to Scripture, “the wages of sin are death” (Rom. 6.23). At this point, this is confirmed from our everyday experience of the chain reactions of the environmental destruction: changes in the climate the stripping of the earth from its forests, torrential rainfalls, floods, mudslides; the consequence of all these is death. Atomic explosions, radioactivity, cancerous births; again, the consequence of these is death. Toxic wastes, pollution of the air, water and the ground, introduction of toxic substances into the cycle of life; once more, the consequence is death. Dispersion into the atmosphere of gases that damage the ozone, augmented infrared radiation that damages human health; this, too, leads to death.

For all these causes of death, which are the direct result of our own doing, and of which we are not conscious that we are the cause, in our prayers we ask for God’s forgiveness. Our responsibility for whatever happens around us is an unavoidable given. We not only destroying the beauty of created nature, but we are also bringing harm and death to our fellow human beings. To remedy the situation, we should become conscious of this great sin; we should allow it to become an important motivation to ameliorate our environmental behavior. Then, the goal of our common ecological responsibility will also become increasingly socially acceptable. Then, perhaps we will begin responsibly to participate as individuals with conscious choices, whether in the context of the environment or in the context of our souls.

Ecumenical Imperative: A Common Responsibility

For all these reasons, we address ourselves to the leaders of the world and pray that they take the necessary measures so that the catastrophic changes of climate, caused by human activity may be reversed. We should propagate an ecological ethic, which should remind us that the world is not ours, for us to use as we please. It is a gift of God’s love to us. It is our obligation to return that love by protecting it with whatever responsibilities this may entail.

This common purpose unites all human beings, in the same way as all the waters of the world are united. In order to save a sea, we must save all the rivers and oceans. God created heaven and earth as a harmonious totality; consequently, we also have to face creation as harmonious and interdependent whole. For us at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the term ecumenical is more than a name: it is a worldview, and a way of life. The Lord intervenes and fills His creation with His divine presence in a continuous bond. Let us work together so that we may renew the harmony between heaven and earth, so that we may transform every detail and every element of life. Let us love one another. With love, let us share with others everything we know and especially that which is useful in order to educate godly persons so that they may sanctify God’s creation for the glory of His holy name.

As a symbol to remind us of this responsibility – that each of us must do our part so that we may keep our natural environment as it has been handed down to us by God – we present you with this parchment with the inscription from Holy Scripture of God’s commandment to the first-created people placed in the Garden of Eden. It is the commandment to “work and keep the earth” of the garden. This is also the content of our message, addressed to every human being. Let everyone work to produce material goods from nature; but also, let everyone keep its integrity and keep harmless, as God commanded human beings to do.