The attitude to environmental issues, to nature is an indicator of the spiritual and moral state of a person, society, Nation, Humanity. The Church must again and again clearly and definitely state its position on environmental issues and convey it to its clergy and parishioners. After all, the Church cannot ignore what is happening on our planet, on our continent, in our countries.
Environmental concern should become an integral part of all spheres of life and activity of the Church. It should become a component of the pastoral, missionary, and publishing activities of parishes, monasteries, theological seminaries, academies, universities, and other church educational institutions.
On November 14, our NGO Center of Bioethical Research and Culture held a seminar with the priests of the Mtskheta and Tbilisi Eparchy of the Georgian Orthodox Church on the topic “The parish priest is an environmental educator.” The speakers were Professor, Archimandrite Adam Akhaladze and Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Lecturer in the subject “Environmental Medicine” at Queen Tamara University of the Georgian Patriarchate Tamaz Gelovani.
The seminar was attended by 14 clergy (12 priests and two deacons). A very interesting discussion took place, which confirmed the need for environmental education for both clergy and parishioners.
The event was held within the framework of the project “Churches, religious and public organizations for the eco-education of national minorities”, which is implemented by the Interreligious and Environmental Civil Forum of Eastern Europe (IRCEF) (head by Alexander Bokotey) in cooperation with the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU Bundesverband NABU International ) with the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Auswärtiges Amt #AA_Kultur #CivilSocietyCooperation ) project coordinators Ivan Tymofeiev (NABU), Nataliya Kulya (IRCEF).
Informational Service of IRCEF
