Toward an Ecology of Transfiguration

The Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis is Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne and a clergyman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, where he serves as theological advisor in the office of Inter Orthodox and ecumenical relations. He is also theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch on environmental affairs. He studied in Athens and Oxford, as well as taught in Sydney and Boston. The author of numerous books and articles on Orthodox theology, spirituality, and ecology, he has edited three volumes containing the selected writings of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Fordham University Press, 2010–12) and co-edited the signature anthology on Orthodoxy and the environment, Toward an Ecology of Transfiguration: Orthodox Christian Perspectives on Environment, Nature, and Creation (Fordham). He lives in Harpswell, Maine.His all Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians, is the 270th successor of St. Andrew the Apostle, who founded the 2,000-year-old Church of Constantinople. For his efforts to raise environmental awareness, he was named by Time magazine as one of the world's most influential people.

"I rate this as perhaps the signature work on Orthodoxy and the Environment (and Nature) available in English. [Its] range of topics and specializations make it useful for people who are not Orthodox and for those with diverse academic backgrounds. It is difficult to imagine anyone who cannot learn or benefit from some chapters or parts of this book." -- -Daniel P. Buxhoeveden Research Professor, Founder and Director of the Religion and Science Initiative, University of South Carolina "I must say from the onset that my enthusiasm can hardly be contained!... To my knowledge there are no books currently being offered that provide the depth and scholarship found here... This manuscript has gathered the best in the field and collated them into what certainly can become a foundational text book for further academic study." -- -Rev. Chad Hatfield Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary "This anthology is a monumental contribution to the literature on religion and ecology. The abundant contributions of the Orthodox tradition to seeing into the sacred depths of nature are evident in this rich collection of essays. It will stand as a classic in the field for years to come and help reshape reflections on our shared planetary future." -- -Mary Evelyn Tucker Forum on Religion at Ecology at Yale

• Contents Prefatory Letter by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Foreword by Bill McKibben Introduction: "The Sweetness of Heaven Overflows onto the Earth": Orthodox Christianity and Environmental Thought John Chryssavgis and Bruce V. Foltz I. "Knowledge United to God": Environment, Nature, and Creation in Patristic Thought The Logoi of Beings in Greek Patristic Thought David Bradshaw Hierarchy and Love in St. Dionysius the Areopagite Eric D. Perl The Beauty of the World and Its Significance in St. Gregory the Theologian John Anthony McGuckin Natural Contemplation in St. Maximus the Confessor and St. Isaac the Syrian Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen) Man and Cosmos in St. Maximus the Confessor Andrew Louth II. "The Heart That Receives": Environment, Nature, and Creation In Twentieth-Century Orthodox Thought Ecology, Theology, and the World Savas Agouridis Through Creation to the Creator Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia Creation as Communion in Contemporary Orthodox Theology Aristotle Papanikolaou The Theological-Ethical Contributions of Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov) to Environmental Issues Perry T. Hamalis The Cosmology of the Eucharist George Theokritoff "A 'Tradition' That Never Existed": Orthodox Christianity and the Failure of Environmental History Jurretta Jordan Heckscher A New Heaven and a New Earth: Orthodox Christian Insights from Theology, Spirituality, and the Sacraments John Chryssavgis Proprietors or Priests of Creation? Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon III. "Love Comes from Meeting God": Historical, Theological, and Philosophical Dimensions Sedimentation of Meaning in the Concepts of Nature and the Environment James Carey Existential versus Regulative Approaches: The Environmental Issue as an Existential and Not a Canonical Problem Christos Yannaras Nature and Creation: A Comment on the Environmental Problem from a Philosophical and Theological Standpoint Nikos Nissiotis Physis and Ktisis: Two Different Ways of Thinking of the World John Panteleimon Manoussakis Human Image, World Image: The Renewal of Sacred Cosmology Philip Sherrard Environment and Security: Toward a Systemic Crisis of Humanity? Costa Carras Church Walls and Wilderness Boundaries: Defining the Spaces of Sanctuary L. Michael Harrington Orthodoxy and Ecopoetics: The Green World in the Desert Sea Alfred K. Siewers Perspectives on Orthodoxy, Evolution, and Ecology Gayle E. Woloschak Ecology, Morality, and the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century: The Earth in the Hands of the Sons of Noah H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. IV. "Sweetness Overflowing onto the Earth": Insights from Orthodox Spirituality The Fragile Surround Scott Cairns Liturgy, Cosmic Worship, and Christian Cosmology Elizabeth Theokritoff "All Creation Rejoices in You": Creation in the Liturgies for the Feasts of the Theotokos Christina M. Gschwandtner Traces of Divine Fragrance, Droplets of Divine Love: On the Beauty of Visible Creation Bruce V. Foltz Natural and Supernatural Revelation in Early Irish and Greek Monastic Thought: A Comparative Approach Chrysostomos Koutloumousianos Ecology and Monasticism Archimandrite Vasileios The Prophetic Charisma in Pastoral Theology: Asceticism, Fasting, and the Ecological Crisis Anestis Keselopoulos The Spirit of God Moved upon the Face of the Waters: Orthodox Holiness and the Natural World Donald Sheehan Appendixes A. Vespers for the Environment Translated by Archimandrite Ephrem (Lash) B. Environment, Nature, and Creation in Orthodox Thought: A Bibliography of Texts in English Compiled by John Chryssavgis and Bruce V. Foltz C. Glossary Compiled by Nicholas R. Anton Notes On the Contributors Index