Worse than the Plagues of Pharaoh
September 26, 1997
One of the most urgent problems of our era is that of the environment, given that for the first time in the history of humanity, nature is threatened together with humanity in a definitive and irreversible manner. The new element, which elevates the ecological problem to a level in a way above that of the plagues of Pharaoh, is the irreversible character of many of the catastrophes which occur. The ills afflicting the environment are difficult to correct, and for that reason it is essential for us to take preventative measures.
Our common responsibility for nature constitutes the beginning of every sensitivity with reference to ecological matters. Believers and unbelievers, religious people and atheists, regardless of sex or nationality, social position, economic situation, political standpoint and position on world-theory, are equally affected by the destruction of nature, which is classed under the heading of the environmental question. For this reason, precisely, all of us without exception fully bear the responsibility for any indifference in the face of the ecological threat. All of us are affected by the destruction of the natural environment and, without exception, we should all assume our responsibilities and undertake initiatives. All of those who violate nature are perpetrators today and tomorrow become victims of their own violence.
Response to Earth – Return to God
In participating in the effort to protect nature, the Ecumenical Patriarchate does not go as far as to idolize it, but tries to make conscious responses so as to conform to the divine commandment to labor and to preserve the environment in which God placed humanity. One criterion of environmental behavior for us is the liturgical ethos of the Orthodox tradition. This ethos is summarized, as it were, in the eucharistic proclamation: “As we offer to you your own of your own – in all things and for all things – we praise you, we bless you, we give thanks to you, Lord, and we pray to you, our God.” We do not despise God’s gifts, among which is the “very good” nature. Rather, we offer this gift back to God with awe and due respect.
Gift (doron, in Greek) and gift in return (antidoron, in Greek) are the terms by which it is possible to signify our Orthodox theological view of the environmental question in a concise and clear manner. Nature is the doron of the Triune God to humankind. The antidoron of humankind to its Maker and Father is the respect of this gift, the preservation of creation, as well as its fruitful and careful use. The believer is called upon to celebrate his or her daily life eucharistically, that is to say to live and to practice daily what he or she confesses and proclaims at each Divine Liturgy: “We offer to you your own of your own, in all things and for all things, and we give thanks to you, Lord!” Doron and antidoron comprise the realized Eucharistic conduct of the Orthodox Christian, which is prefigured in an exemplary manner in the liturgical practice.
