Elias Economou
An Orthodox View of the Ecological Crisis
7.2 Church's Micro-ecological Contribution.
The solution to the ecological problem passes through the salvation of mankind, through the renewal of man's mind in Christ. The Church, as the «laboratory of salvation», as the living body of Jesus Christ in the social environment, has to assist in the fulfilment of salvation, through its teaching and Mysteries, through worship and ethical behaviour, through Christian Macro-Ecology, which is inseparable from the Divine Economy. The mind, our mind, has to regain its pure attitude towards nature. Modern man must realize that he is "oikonomos" (a steward) of creation in order to abandon his present-day despotic behavior towards it. Christians ought not only to contribute to our salvation, but also to extend it to nature, which suffers because of our sins.
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