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Address of His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphaniy on the occasion of the Day of Prayer for the Environment
02 Вересня 2019
Address by Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine
Epiphaniy, the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, on the
occasion of the Day of Prayer for the Environment (September 1)
Brothers and sisters, beloved in Christ!
It has been 30 years since the blessed memory of the Ecumenical
Patriarch Demetrius initiated the tradition of commemorating the
Church’s New Year on September 1/14, the Day of Prayer for the
Environment.
Recently, according to the resolution of the Holy Synod of our Local
Church, such a celebration has been established in Ukraine. We know that
all creation together sighs and torments to this day (Rom. 8:22). These
words of the Apostle Paul have become unexpectedly relevant nowadays,
when millions of people, together with other creatures, suffer from
man-made disasters and natural disasters caused by human greed and
indifference. Man is not only able to plunder his planet. Creation
awaits the appearance of the sons of God, says the apostle Paul, through
which it will be freed from the bondage of corruption to the glory of
the children of God (Rom. 8: 19-21). Having settled a man in the world
as at home, the Lord gave him the first commandment to take care of the
universe (Gen. 1: 26-28).
Subsequently, the Creator constantly reminded Adam’s descendants that
He was not only concerned with them, but also with the rest of
creation. Thus, having saved the Noah family from the Flood and the
beginnings of every animal species, God made a covenant not only with
humans, but also with “every living soul that is with you, with birds
and with cattle, and with all the beasts of the earth” (Gen. 9 : 10).
The Lord revealed to the prophet Jonah that He had compassion on the
city of Nineveh not only for the sake of the people, but also for the
cattle that dwell there (Jonah 4:11).
In the New Testament, the Savior has also affirmed that He not only
cares for people but also glorifies the wildflowers and gives food to
the birds of the sky (Matt. 6: 26-30). Forgetting this important
dimension of Revelation moves us away from the heart of Orthodox
spirituality. Saint Isaac Sirin described the universe as the “ocean of
creativity” of God the Father, Who “in His compassion bears everything,
visits everything, cares for everything and controls everything.” This
parental concern of the Creator must be imitated by man, resembling God
with the mercy to the whole world. According to the monk, “a merciful
heart” is “the burning of the heart in man for all creation, for humans,
for birds, for animals, and for all creation.” Ancient saints have
warned us about the perniciousness of consumer attitudes toward the
world.
St. John Chrysostom taught that the entire cosmos is a gift of God to
all mankind, that all the resources of the earth belong to all, and
every man must take care of all creation. Ecology is an object of
constant attention and concern for Ecumenical Orthodoxy. The Holy and
Grand Council of the Orthodox Church, held in 2016, testified that “the
current ecological crisis has arisen because of spiritual and ethical
reasons. Its roots are related to lust, greed and selfishness, which
leads to the misallocation of natural resources, pollution and the
greenhouse effect.
The Christian approach to solving this problem requires from man to
repent of the abuse of nature, to have abstinence, and ascetic ethos,
which is the antidote against excessive consumption, and at the same
time cultivates in man the consciousness that he is only a “house
manager” and not the owner of creation. The Church does not cease to
emphasize that the future generation has the right to possess natural
goods that the Creator has entrusted to us. “This very Council
proclaimed September 1 as the day of prayer for the protection of the
natural environment in all Local Churches.
And this year our Orthodox Church of Ukraine joins the common
Orthodox prayer. This prayer should be the beginning of constant
theological reflection and the real participation of the clergy and
believers of our holy Church in the preservation of the environment and
various environmental initiatives together with all people of good will.
And may the Lord, Who created “both heaven and earth and the sea and
all that is in them” (Acts 4:24) help us in this!
Epiphaniy,
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
August 30, 2019