Sunday marks the 35th anniversary of establishing the Day of Prayer for the Environment in the Orthodox Church. It was set at the beginning of the Church Year at the initiative of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I of Constantinople.
Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I invited the whole Christian world to give thanks for the creation and ask for its divine protection.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinopl has continued this legacy, being surnamed The Green Patriarch.
On this day, in Orthodox communities worldwide, services are celebrated and events are organised on Church New Year’s Day, to raise awareness of the need to protect nature, a responsibility every Christian should assume.
“Behaving towards nature as God’s gift means remaining in a close relationship with God, its Giver. He who treasures the gift treasures the Giver infinitely more as a loving person, and also treasures His love. He values the gift only as a sign of the Giver’s love,” wrote Holy Confessor Priest Dumitru Stăniloae.
Photo credit: Unsplash / Steve Carter
