ECOLOGICAL ISSUES IN “THE FUNDAMENTALS OF THE
SOCIAL CONCEPTION
OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH”
On August 13-16 ' 2000 Sanctified Pontifical Synod Session of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in Moscow.
After hearing the report by His Eminence Kirill, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, the chairman of the Synodal workgroup for developing the draft Fundamentals of the Social Conception of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Bishops’ Council resolved:
1. To approve the Fundamentals of the Social Conception of the Russian Orthodox Church which sets forth the basic provisions of its teaching on church-state relations and some significant social problems, and to regard this document as reflecting the official position of the Moscow Patriarchy on relations with secular society and the State.
2. To instruct the Synodal institutions, dioceses, monasteries, parishes and other canonical church entities, as well as the clergy and laity, to be guided by the Fundamentals of the Social Conception in their relations with the government, various secular associations and organizations and the non-church mass media, to apply the instructions in this document to the pastoral practice associated with new developments in the life of society, and to consider it useful for the church authorities to take action on the basis of this document concerning various more specific issues.
3. To include the Fundamentals of the Social Conception of the Russian Orthodox Church in the curriculum of the Moscow Patriarchy’s theological schools.
4. To urge all members of the Russian Orthodox Church to read this
document which, to this end, should be published both in pamphlet
form and on the Internet.
Among the other topics considered at the Synod Session was the issue "The Church
and Ecological Problems". Now we would like to introduce the readers to the
Synod decisions.
XIII. The Church and ecological problems
XIII. 1. The Orthodox Church, aware of its responsibility for the fate
of the world, is deeply concerned with the problems generated by contemporary
civilization, not the least of all the ecological problems. Today the image
of the Earth is being distorted on a global scale. Its bowels, soil, water,
air, fauna and flora are damaged. Nature has been almost fully involved
in the life support of humanity; humans are no longer satisfied with its
diverse gifts but are exploiting whole ecosystems without restraint. Human
activity, having reached the level of biosphere processes, is constantly
growing due to the accelerated development of science and technology. General
environmental pollution due to industrial waste, poor agricultural technology,
destruction of forests and topsoil all result in suppressed biological activity
and the steady shrinking of the genetic diversity of life. Irreplaceable
mineral resources are being exhausted and drinking water reserves reduced.
Multiple new harmful substances have appeared, many of which are not included
in the natural circulation and accumulate in the biosphere. The ecological
balance has been upset; humanity now faces the emergence of pernicious processes
in nature, including the failure of its innate reproductive power.
All this is happening together with an unprecedented and unjustified growth of public consumption in highly developed countries, where the search for wealth and luxury has become the norm. This situation prevents the fair distribution of natural resources, which are the common property of all mankind. The consequences of the ecological crisis have proved painful not for nature alone, but also for man as its organic part. As a result, the Earth finds itself on the verge of ecological disaster.
XIII. 2. Relations between man and nature were upset in pre-historic
times because of the fall of man and his alienation from God.Sin
that was born in the soul of man damaged not only himself, but also the
entire world. “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly,
but by reason, of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because
the creature itself also 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 and travaileth in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:20-22).
The first human crime was reflected in nature as in a mirror. The seed of
sin, having produced an effect in the human heart, gave rise to “thorns
and thistles”, as the Holy Scripture testifies (Gen. 3:18). The full organic
unity that existed between man and the world around him before the fall
(Gen. 2: 19-20) was made impossible. In their current consuming attitude
towards nature, human beings are more often guided by selfish motives. They
have forgotten that the only Lord of the Universe is God (Ps. 23:1), to
Whom belong “the heaven… and the earth also, with all that therein
is” (Deut. 10:14), while man, as St. John the Goldenmouthed put it, is only
a “housekeeper” entrusted with the riches of the earth. These riches, namely,
“the air, sun, water, land, heaven, sea, light, stars”, as the same saint
remarks, God “divided among all in equal measure as if among brothers”.
“Dominion” over nature and “subjection” of the earth (Gen. 1:28), to which
man is called, do not mean all-permissiveness in God's design. It only means
that man is the bearer of the image of the heavenly Housekeeper and as such
should express, according to St. Gregory of Nyssa, his royal dignity not
in dominion over the world or violence towards it, but in “dressing” and
“keeping” the magnificent kingdom of nature for which he is responsible
before God.
XIII. 3. The ecological crisis compels us to review our relations with
the environment.Today the conception of man's dominion over nature
and the consumer attitude to it are increasingly criticized. The awareness
that contemporary society pays too high a price for the blessings of the
civilization has provoked opposition to economic egoism. In particular,
attempts have been made to identify the activities that damage the natural
environment. At the same time, a system for its protection is being developed;
present economic methods are being reviewed; efforts are being made to create
power-saving technologies and waste-free plants which can be fit at the
same time into the natural circulation. An ecological ethos is being developed.
Guided by it, public opinion is speaking out against the consumer way of
life, demanding that the moral and legal responsibility for the damage inflicted
on nature should be increased. It is also calling for ecological education
and training and collective efforts to protect the environment on the basis
of broad international co-operation.
XIII. 4. The Orthodox Church appreciates these efforts to counteract
the ecological crisis and urges people to take active part in protecting
God's creation. At the same time, the Church notes that these efforts will
be more fruitful if the basis on which man's relations with nature are built
is not purely humanistic but also Christian. One of the main principles
of the Church's stand on ecological issues is the unity and integrity of
the world created by God. Orthodoxy does not view nature as an isolated
or closed structure. The plant, animal, and human worlds are interconnected.
From the Christian point of view, nature is not a repository of resources
intended for selfish and irresponsible consumption, but a house in which
man is not the master, but the housekeeper, and a temple in which he is
the priest serving not nature, but the one Creator. The conception of nature
as a temple is based on the idea of theocentrism: God Who gives to all “life,
and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25) is the Source of being. Therefore,
life itself in its various manifestations is sacred, being a gift of God.
Any encroachment on it is a challenge not only to God's creation, but also
to the Lord Himself.
XIII. 5. Ecological problems are essentially anthropological, as they
are generated not by nature but by man. Therefore, answers to many questions
raised by the environmental crisis are to be found in the human heart, not
in the economy, biology, technology or politics. Nature changes or perishes
not by itself, but under the influence of man. His spiritual condition plays
the decisive role here, for it affects the environment with or without such
an influence. The history of the Church knows of many examples when the
love of Christian ascetics for nature, their prayer for the world, and their
compassion for all creatures had a beneficial influence on living things.
The relationship between anthropology and ecology stands out today when the world is experiencing two concurrent crises: spiritual and ecological.In contemporary society, man often loses the awareness of life as a gift of God, and sometimes of the very meaning of life itself, reducing it at times to physical being alone. With this attitude to life, nature is no longer perceived as a home much less a temple, but only as a “habitat”. The spiritually degraded person leads nature to degradation as well, for it is unable to have a transforming influence on the world. Colossal technological resources cannot help humanity when it is blinded by sin and indifferent to the meaning, mystery and wonder of life; technology in that case cannot be of benefit and may even do harm. In a spiritually disoriented man, technological power will beget a utopian reliance on the boundless resources of the human mind and the power of progress.
It is impossible to completely overcome the ecological crisis given a spiritual
crisis.This does not mean that the Church is calling for an end to environmental
protection efforts. However, the Church considers that hope for a positive change
in the relationship between man and nature lies is society's striving for spiritual
revival. The anthropogenic background of our ecological problems shows that
we tend to change the world around us in accordance with our own inner world;
therefore, the transformation of nature should begin with the transformation
of the soul. According to St. Maxim the Confessor, man can turn the earth into
paradise only if he carries paradise within himself.
