New ecological culture and ecological theology in Orthodoxy

Abstract

The article is a development of the ideas of Open Orthodoxy in the field of ecology. The author emphasizes that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine joins the pan-Orthodox and world process of prayer and care for the environment. The author draws attention to the longevity of the environmental theme in the activities of the Ecumenical Patriarchs, the Message of the All-Orthodox Council in Crete (2016) and the document of the Patriarchate of Constantinople "For the life of the world: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church" (2020). The Primate of the PCU, His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius, also addresses ecological issues in his speeches on the occasion of the Day of Prayer for the Environment (2019, 2020).

The author of the article goes further and offers the prospect of shifting the culture of Orthodox traditions and rites to a more ecological one. The author touches on the topic of cemetery culture, ecological burials and new forms of commemoration; the culture of church traditions, sanctification and construction of church buildings; change of view on processing and utilization; fasting as an environmental practice. The author proposes the creation of an Orthodox ecological calendar, ecological theology and religious principles of ecological worldview. As an example, the 28th verse of the biblical Book of Genesis is analyzed, which is usually criticized by environmentalists, and a return to a more ancient and at the same time more modern and ecological understanding and translation of the verse is offered. The author also suggests looking at the images used by Christ in his sermon from an ecological point of view.