:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 ::

A Cosmic Liturgy: Notes on an Orthodox Vision of Ecology

These are some scattered notes from the talk given by Fr. John Chryssavgis Sunday night:

* Faces in icons are always frontal--the eyes always look out, look forward toward us, inviting us inward. They are alive and present. Icons show us that we must face the world with our eyes open.

* Icons speak to us here and now the language of the age to come. They reveal the eternal perspective of reality, the reveal the world as intended by God.

* The celebration of communion between heaven and earth...in the liturgy we receive the world from God with blessing and return it back to him in thanksgiving.

* Creation is a "silent sermon" or as St. Maximos the Confessor so beautifully put it, a "cosmic liturgy".

* We relate to icons and liturgy & our world by who we are, not merely what we do. We must seek an ontological change in our care of creation, not merely a "rise in stewardship" or "ethical programs"

* The ascetic life of the Church is the key to encouraging and cultivating the beauty of creation. It is "traveling light on the earth"... We are not to be "tyrannical overlords" but rather in fasting, we are free from compulsion and self-centered living.

* Human being are the only animals who do not know how to say "No" or "Enough"....Creation seeks one thing from us: that we remain truly human.

Update: David Heddle links to this post at blogs4God and says, "I think ecology/environment is fascinating topic for Christians to debate. In many (but by no means all, and perhaps especially among American Christians) it creates an interesting tension between conservative free-market politics and stewardship of God's earth." I agree.

:: Karl :: 8:08:00 AM [Link] ::