Orthodoxy and Ecology

While I was doing researching what to do for my final paper, I came across the strong connection that the Orthodox Church has drawn with environmentalism. Patriarch Bartholomew is a strong advocate for protecting the environment and has incorporated his views into the Orthodox Church. He teaches that committing a crime against nature is a sin and holds the same as committing any other crime. I completely agree with this viewpoint because I think people should view the environment as God's creation and if they desire to honor God, then they should desire to honor his creation. The problem with this is that humans have altered the environment in so many detrimental ways that it seems an impossible task to ever get back to the way God intended his creation to be. Is it even possible to get back to how God intended life on earth to be or have we damaged the environment so much that we must now suffer the consequences of our actions for the rest of time?

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