On World Environment Day, the Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece delivers a timely and deeply theological message, emphasizing that the ecological crisis is “a problem of the present, with urgent and dangerous dimensions.” Decrying the prevailing trends of overconsumption and individualism, the Archbishop calls for “a transition to a sustainable future” through a holistic and ethically grounded environmental governance.
As he highlights, the Orthodox Church proposes a different ethos: a “culture of restraint,” a path of ascetic responsibility, and a eucharistic relationship with Creation. The “priestly relationship between humanity and nature” is presented as the foundation of spiritual and cultural unity, while it is underscored that “Creation exists as a gift from God,” which we are called to preserve with faith, reverence, and the collaborative effort of all social forces.
By pointing to the dangers of the “despiritualization of the world” through the misuse of new technologies and transhumanist narratives, the Archbishop reaffirms the theological core of Christian faith: “We do not proclaim a man who was deified, but a God who became incarnate.”
Read below the message of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, for World Environment Day:
“With responsibility and awe, we stand before the problem of the ecological crisis, which is connected not simply with climate change but with a climate crisis. Across the globe today, we interfere recklessly and alter the environment, succumbing to the logic of economic utilitarianism, the commodification of human relations, overconsumption, and a self-serving individualism.
This is not a future issue; it is a present one, with urgent and dangerous dimensions. Humanity and Nature are under threat because the ecological crisis results from the unsustainable interaction between humanity and natural ecosystems—a dynamic that exceeds the carrying capacity of these systems as defined by the concept of ‘planetary boundaries.’ Boundaries that today are recognized by both Science and Theology, by human and Divine Wisdom. These limits imperatively signal the need for a transition to a sustainable future—redefining energy and food production and consumption, promoting a circular economy, investing in renewable sources, and advocating for environmental governance grounded in ethics and scientific substantiation.
The Orthodox Church has always spoken of the ‘culture of restraint,’ which calls us to a continual struggle of ascetic commitment and encourages a eucharistic and doxological understanding of the world. Creation, as a Divine work, sets us before our responsibilities and compels us to hear the ecological crisis as a ‘cry of the Earth and Nature,’ to live in the world without conforming to the spirit of selfish hedonism and vainglory.
The ‘priestly relationship between man and nature’ reminds us of the unity of spirit and matter, of God and Creation, of Theology and Culture, helping us to understand that, according to Christian teaching, humanity is ‘the recapitulation of the world.’ Indeed, in the sacred tradition of the Church, man is ‘the overseer of visible creation, the initiate of the intelligible, the king of those on earth… great in smallness’ (St. Gregory the Theologian, On Holy Pascha, P.G. 36, 632).
As stewards and ministers—not merely ecologists—we understand that the ecological crisis begins with our unethical behavior and is not merely about physical scarcity of resources. As was pointed out at the World Economic Forum in Davos (1999), the pressure for ever-increasing productivity and the excessive attachment to material possessions sweeps away every balancing or limiting factor and magnifies past social conflicts to an international level.
‘Creation exists as a gift from God,’ and the natural environment becomes an integral part of spiritual life, requiring special protection and reverent treatment. Hence, there is a pressing need for cooperation among all social, cultural, and political institutions with the Church so that dialogue and action may be enriched in a direction that is necessarily trans-class, ecumenical, and interdisciplinary.
What remains essential is the establishment of a ‘holistic ecology’ that links environmental protection with social economy, as well as with the limits of growth and sustainability, aiming toward ‘sustainable development.’ After all, ‘God created all phenomena and gave them to humanity for rest and delight, and He gave them the law of righteousness’ (St. Macarius of Egypt).
A continuous struggle is needed—one that places Humanity and Nature at the center of Divine Creation—especially in our time, under the pressures of Transhumanism and the virtual reality of the digital world, which diminishes (if not negates) the very ontology of the Human Being.
Now, more than ever, the prayers of the Church acquire a new social dynamism in the face of the challenges of de-naturalization, de-materialization, and de-embodiment of the world brought about by the misuse of new technologies (Artificial Intelligence).
Nature, as a school and educator of the human soul (St. Basil the Great), always reminds us of the timeless and wise proclamation: ‘We do not proclaim a man who was deified, but a God who became incarnate’ (St. John of Damascus).
Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece
Translated by Ioanna Georgakopoulou
