Fathers & Saints
A selection of sayings, writings and accounts of lives of Church Fathers & Saints witnesses to the Orthodox Church's tradition of care for Creation.
Keep the Tradition Given Us!
Ecological Sayings
Ambrose of Milan | Anthony the Great | Augustine of Hippo | Athanasius
Basil the Great | Benedict of Nursia
Clement of Alexandria | Clement of Rome | Columba | Columbanus | Cyril of Jerusalem
Dionysius the Areopagite | David of Garesja
Ephraim the Syrian | Evagrius of Pontuis
Gregory the Great | Gregory Nazianzus | Gregory of Nyssa | Gregory of Sinai | Guthlac
Hilary of Poitiers | Hildebert of Lavardin | Hubertus
Ignatius of Antioch | Irenaeus of Lyons | Isaac the Syrian
Jerome | John Cassian | John Climacus | John Chrysostom | John Damascene | John Scotus Eriugena
Kevin of Glendalough | Lactantius | Leontios of Cyprus
Maximus the Confessor | Minucius Felix
Nikephorus of Chios | Nilus of Ankyra
Origen
Pachomius | Patrick | Peter of Damaskos
Seraphim of Sarov | Sergius of Radonezh | Symeon New Theologian
Tertullian | Theophan the Recluse
St. Maximus the Confessor (580 - 662)
God, full beyond all fullness, brought creatures into being, not because He had need of anything, but so that they might participate in Him in proportion to their capacity and that He Himself might rejoice in His works, through seeing them joyful and ever filled to overflowing with His inexhaustible gifts.
The shining vestments of the transfigured Christ symbolize the fact that when God, the son of Righteousness, reveals Himself to the human soul, then all the "logoi" of things intelligible and sensible in scripture and nature appear as if they were with him.
Man is not a being isolated from the rest of creation. By his very nature, he is bound up with the whole of the universe.... In his way to union with God, man in no way leaves creatures aside, but gathers together in his love the whole cosmos disordered by sin, that it may be transfigured by grace.
Creation is a bible whose letters and syllables are the particular aspects of all creatures and whose words are the more universal aspects of creation. Conversely, Scripture is like a cosmos constituted of heaven and earth and things in between; that is, the ethical, the natural, the theological dimension.
Creation is the accuser of the ungodly. For through its inherent spiritual principles, creation proclaims its Maker; and through the natural laws intrinsic to each individual species it instructs us in virtue. The spiritual principles may be recognized in the unremitting continuance of each individual species, the laws in the consistency of its natural activity. If we do not ponder on these things, we remain ignorant of the cause of created being and we cling to all the passions which are contrary to nature.
Minucius Felix (167? - 249)
Knowledge of the cosmos aids in selfknowledge
Man ought to know himself, but this knowledge cannot be attained by him unless first he is willing to acknowledge the entire scope of things, including God Himself. And then, from the constitution and furniture of the world itself, every one endowed with reason holds that it was established by God, and is governed and administered by Him.
God cares for every part of creation
God does not care only for the universe, He also cares for all of its parts. ... If on entering a house, you should behold everything refined, well arranged and adorned, you would believe that a master presided over it, and that he was much better and above all those excellent things. So in this house of the world, when you look upon the heaven and the earth, its providence, its ordering, its law, believe that there is a Lord and Parent of the universe far more glorious than the stars themselves, and the parts of the whole world.
St. Nikephoros of Chios (1750 - 1821)
In future times, he says, "men will become poor because they will not have a love for trees.... If you don't love trees, you don't love God.
St. Nilus of Ankyra (365? - 430)
We should remain within the limits imposed by our basic needs and strive with all our power not to exceed them. For once we are carried a little beyond these limits in our desire for the pleasures of life, there is then no criterion by which to check our onward movement, since no bounds can be set to that which exceeds the necessary....
Once a man has passed beyond the limits of his natural needs, as he grows more materialistic, he wants to put jam on his bread; and to water he adds a modicum of wine required for his health, and then the most expensive vintages. He does not rest content with essential clothing....
Let us avoid staying in towns and villages.... Let us seek the wilderness.... For Scripture praises those who ‘leave the cities and dwell in the rocks, and are like the dove’ (Jeremiah 48:28). John the Baptist lived in the wilderness and the population of entire towns came out to him. Men dressed in garments of silk hastened to see his leather girdle; those who lived in houses with gilded ceilings chose to endure hardships in the open air; and rather than sleep on beds adorned with jewels, they preferred to lie on the sand. All this they endured, although it was contrary to their usual habits, for in their desire to see John the Baptist and in their wonder at his holiness they did not notice the hardships and discomfort.
You are a world within a world. Become quiet and look within yourself, and see there the whole creation. Do not look at exterior things but turn all your attention to that which lies within. Gather together your whole mind within the intellectual treasurehouse of your soul, and make ready for the Lord a shrine free from images.
In order to escape vice, the saints fled from the towns and avoided large numbers of people, for they knew that the company of corrupt men is more destructive than a plague. This is why, indifferent to gain, they let their estates become sheep-pastures, so as to avoid distractions.
This is why the Prophet Elijah left Judaea and went to live on Mount Carmel (cf. 1 Kings 18:19) which was desolate and full of wild animals; and apart from what grew on trees and shrubs there was nothing to eat, so he kept himself alive on nuts and berries. Elisha followed the same mode of life, inheriting from his teacher, besides many other good things, a love for the wilderness (cf. 2 Kings 2:25).
John [the Baptist] too dwelt in the wilderness of Jordan, ‘eating locusts and wild honey’ (Mark 1:6); thus he showed us that our bodily needs can be satisfied without much trouble, and he reproached us for our elaborate pleasures. ...
In short, this is why all the saints ... left the inhabited regions and ‘wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth,’ going about ‘in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented (Hebrews 11:37-38). They fled from the sophisticated wickedness of men and from all the unnatural things of which the towns are full, not wishing to be swept off their feet and carried along with all the others into the whirlpool of confusion. They were glad to live with the wild beasts, judging them less harmful than their fellow men. They avoided men as being treacherous, while they trusted the animals as their friends; for animals do not teach us to sin, but to revere and respect holiness. Thus men tried to kill Daniel, but the lions saved him, preserving him when he had been unjustly condemned out of malice (cf. Daniel 6:16-23); and when human justice had miscarried, the animals proclaimed his innocence. Whereas Daniel’s holiness gave rise to strife and envy among men, among the wild animals it evoked awe and veneration.
Origen (185 - 254)
Eminent theologian of the early Church, Origen was born in Alexandria, and became a brilliant philosopher and biblical exegete by the age of eighteen. He was the most prolific of the early Christian writers. Eusebius in his History of the Early Church lists over 2,000 articles and sermons which Origen authored. Early Christians considered Origen the “father of theology,” and he was the most influential of the Greek patristic writers. His writings outline the journey to knowledge of God as having three stages: the acquisition of the virtues which purifies the individual which eventually allows one to hear the “still, small voice”; the contemplation of nature by which one enters into dialogue with God; and finally for a few, "theologia," which involves actual experience of the "Logos." He teaches that knowledge of creation is like Scripture: both require ascesis and contemplation for depth of understanding, and both can lead to a full knowledge of God. Only a small number of his writings remain, largely because three hundred years after his death, some of his concepts were declared uncanonical and destroyed. Like most early Christians, much of his writing is based upon inspired knowledge and experience of Christ. He often uses creation as a fertile field for insight into the divine nature, and says that everything in creation represents some aspect of the nature of God. Among his controversial teachings is the concept that it is a necessity to affirm an eternal creation in order to affirm the immutable and eternal nature of the Creator-God. Origin was martyred during the Decian persecution after a period of prolonged and cruel torture.
The beginning of creation
There is a beginning in a matter of origin, as might appear in the saying, "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). This meaning, however, appears more plainly in the Book of Job in the passage, "This is the beginning of God's creation, made for His angels to mock at" (Job 40:19). One would suppose that the heavens and the earth were made first, of all that was made at the creation of the world. But the second passage suggests a better view, namely, that as many beings were framed with a body, the first made of these was the creature called dragon, but called in another passage the great whale (i.e., “leviathan,” in Job 41:1) which the Lord tamed. We must ask about this, whether, when the saints were living a blessed life apart from matter and from any body, the dragon, falling from the pure life, became fit to be bound in matter and in a body, so that the Lord could say, speaking through storm and clouds, "This is the beginning of the creation of God, made for His angels to mock at." It is possible, however, that the dragon is not positively the beginning of the creation of the Lord, but that there were many creatures made with a body for the angels to mock at, and that the dragon was the first of these, while others could subsist in a body without such reproach.
The diversity of the world joins together into one nature
The world in all its diversity and varying conditions is composed not only of rational and diviner natures, but of dumb animals, wild and tame beasts, of birds and of all the things which live in the waters.... Seeing there is so great a variety in the world, and so great a diversity among rational beings themselves, what cause ought to be assigned for the existence of the world? But God, by ineffable skill of His wisdom, transforming and restoring all things, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labor and purpose, so that although they are under the influence of different motives, they nevertheless complete the fullness and perfection of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection.
And although the world is arranged into different kinds of offices and conditions, nevertheless the whole world ought to be regarded as some huge and immense animal, which is kept together by the power and reason of God as one soul. This is indicated in sacred scripture by the declaration of the prophet, "Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:24), and again, "The heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool" (Isaiah 66:1).
Seeing the "bridegroom of the soul" in creation
If then we too want to see the Word of God, the Bridegroom of the soul, "leaping upon the mountains and skipping over the hills," we must first hear his voice and then when we have heard him in all things, we shall be able to see Him under the same conditions as those in which the Bride is said to have seen Him here.
Man is made "in the image" and toward the “likeness” of God.
Man received the honor of the image of God at his first creation, but the full perfection of God's likeness will only be conferred upon him at the consummation of all things.Some things in creation are hard to understand
There are things in creation hard to understand, or even undiscoverable for human beings. We are not in consequence to condemn the Creator of the universe just because we cannot discover the reason for the creation of scorpions or other venomous beasts. The right thing for a man who is aware of the weakness of our race and who knows it is impossible to understand the reasons of God's design even when most minutely examined, is to ascribe the knowledge of these things to God, who will later on, if we are judged worthy, reveal to us the matters about which we are now reverently in doubt.
If you obey God, creation serves you
Regarding the parting of the Dead Sea by Moses when the Israelites were fleeing the Egyptians, Origen writes, “Notice the goodness of God, the Creator. If you obey his will, if you follow his Law, he compels the elements themselves to serve you even against their own nature.”
Nature and Scripture offer the same conclusions
There is a parallel between nature and Scripture that is so complete, says Origen, that we learn the same things from one source as the other. This he says is true because of a common origin in the Word of God. This explains why “we must necessarily believe that the person who is asking questions of nature and the person who is asking questions of the Scriptures are bound to arrive at the same conclusions.”
The divine art of the Creator is hidden in creation
The divine art that is manifested in the structure of the world is not only to be seen in the sun, the moon and the stars; it operates also on earth on a reduced scale. The hand of the Lord has not neglected the bodies of the smallest animals – and still less their souls – because each one of them is seen to possess some feature that is personal to it, for instance, the way it protects itself.
Nor has the hand of the Lord neglected the plants of the earth, each of which has some detail bearing the mark of the divine art, whether it be the roots, the leaves, the fruits or the variety of species. In the same way, in books written under the influence of divine inspiration, Providence imparts to the human race a wisdom that is more than human, sowing in each letter some saving truth in so far as that letter can convey it, marking out thus the path of wisdom. For once it has been granted that the Scriptures have God himself for their author, we must necessarily believe that the person who is asking questions of nature, and the person who is asking questions of the Scriptures, are bound to arrive at the same conclusions.
God’s invisible nature is perceptible through creation
The apostle Paul teaches us that God’s “invisible nature” has been “clearly perceived in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). He shows us that this visible world contains teaching about the invisible world, and that this earth includes “images of celestial realities...” It could even be that God who made the human race “in His own image and likeness” (Genesis 1:27) also gave to other creatures a likeness to certain celestial realities. Perhaps this resemblance is so detailed that even the grain of mustard seed has its counterpart in the kingdom of heaven. If so, by that law of its nature that makes it the smallest of seeds and yet capable of becoming larger than all the others and of sheltering in its branches the birds of the air, it would represent for us not a particular celestial reality, but the kingdom of heaven as a whole.
In this sense it is possible that other seeds of the earth also contain an analogy with celestial objects and are a sign of them. And if that is true for seeds, it must be the same for plants. And if it is true for plants, it cannot be otherwise for animals, birds, reptiles and four-footed beasts.... It may be granted that these creatures, seeds, plants, roots and animals, are undoubtedly at the service of humanity’s physical needs. However they include the shape and image of the invisible world, and they also have the task of elevating the soul and guiding it to the contemplation of celestial objects. Perhaps this is what the spokesman of Divine Wisdom means when he expresses himself in the words: “It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements; the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternation of the solstices and the changes of the seasons, the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars, the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts, the powers of spirits..., the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots; I learned both what is secret and what is manifest” (Wisdom of Solomon 7:17-21). He shows thus, without any doubt, that everything that is seen is related to something that is hidden. That is to say that each visible reality is a symbol, and it refers to an invisible reality to which it is related.
Men and women equal in the sight of God
Sacred scripture does not set men and women in opposition to one another in respect to gender. Sex does not constitute any difference in the sight of God.
A key requirement for the contemplation of nature
Contemplation begins only after the completion of ascetical exercises (praxis), the aim of which is the achievement of interior freedom (apatheia); that is to say, the possibility of loving. Contemplation consists of two stages: direct communion with God is the aim, of course, but first we must come to 'knowledge of creatures' or 'contemplation of nature' (physike theoria), that is, the contemplation 'of the secrets of the glory of God hidden in his creatures'.
St. Pachomius (292 - 346)
God's presence fills the earth
Do not go from one place to another, saying, "I will find God here or I will find God there." God has said, "I fill the earth, I fill the heavens."
And again He has said, "If you cross over the water, I am with you."
My son, be aware that God is within you, so that you may dwell in his law and commandments.
A prayer for the whole world
Lord, God Almighty, blessed God,
grant us to carry through this service
my fellowmembers as I have begun,
that we may be worthy of you;
that you may dwell in our bodies,
in our souls, and in our spirits; and
that we may always be perfect in your love,
walking before you according
to your good pleasure.
May we not sin against you,
or put to the test your Holy Spirit
in whose name we have been sealed....
For He makes the sun to shine upon the earth,
enlightening those who carry on their work,
the moon and the stars shine for us by night.
The seasons of fruitfulness,
the rains, the dew, and the winds destined
to make grow the harvests
that have been sown in the field;
All things that are necessary to men and to creatures
have been created by God for man's needs.
St. Patrick (385 - 471)
The nature of our God
When Patrick was sent to Ireland as a bishop, he was confronted by a Druidic society headed by kings and tribal chieftans. To reply to a question from a Druid's daughter about the nature of the Christian God, Patrick replied, "Our God is the God of all men, the God of Heaven and Earth, of sea and river, of sun and moon and stars, of the lofty mountain and the lowly valley, the God above Heaven, the God in Heaven, the God under Heaven. He has his dwelling round Heaven and Earth and the sea and all that in them is. He inspires all, he quickens all, he rules over all, he sustains all. He lights the light of the sun; he furnishes the light of the light; he has put springs in the dry land and has set stars to minister to the greater lights....
God is in all things
He inspires all, He gives life to all, He dominates all, He supports all.
He lights the light of the sun. He furnishes the light of the night.
He has made springs in dry land.
He is the God of heaven and earth, of sea and rivers, of sun, moon and stars,
of the lofty mountain and the lowly valley, the God above heaven,
and in heaven and under heaven.
God of all things
Our God is the God of all, the God of heaven and earth, of the sea and of the rivers.
The God of the sun and of the moon and of all the stars;
The God of the lofty mountains and of the lowly valleys.
He has His dwelling around heaven and earth, and sea, and all that in them is.
St. Peter of Damaskos (1027? - 1107?)
As it is said, “In everything give thanks.” When you see the sky, the earth, the sea, and all things in them, marvel at these things and glorify their Creator
God’s providence embraces the whole universe.... By contemplating the beauty and use of each thing, (one who has acquired the habit of detachment) is filled with love for the Creator. He surveys all visible things: the sky, the sun, moon, stars and clouds, rain, snow and hail... thunder, lightening, the winds and breezes and the way they change, the seasons, the years...; the four-legged animals, the wild beasts and animals and reptiles, all the birds, the springs and rivers, the many varieties of plants and herbs, both wild and cultivated. He sees in all things the order, the equilibrium, the proportion, the beauty, the rhythm, the union, the harmony, the usefulness, the variety, the motion, the colours, the shapes, the reversion of things to their source, permanence in the midst of corruption. Contemplating thus all created realities, he is filled with wonder.
St. Seraphim of Sarov (1759 - 1833)
Seraphim’s friendship with the forest animals was a continual source of wonder to his fellow monks. According to one of his fellow monks, Fr. Joseph, an eyewitness, rabbits, foxes, lynx, lizards, bears, even wolves would gather at the entrance to his small hut, waiting for St. Seraphim to finish his prayers and come out to feed them with bread crusts which he always seemed to have left over for them.
Several persons told of a bear which would always obey his requests and run errands for him, such as finding honey when there was a visitor. These acts of the bear always delighted the saint.
St. Sergius of Radonezh (1314 - 1392)
St. Sergius’ disciple, Epiphanius, who chronicled his life, explains a meaning in the relationship of saints to the animals. [This relationship] “...should astonish no one, for it should be known with certainty that when God dwells in a man and the Holy Spirit rests in him, all is subject to him, as all was subject in the beginning to Adam before the transgression of God’s commandment.
St. Symeon the New Theologian (949 - 1022)
The things and possessions that are in the world are common to all, like the light and this air that we breathe, as well as the pasture for the dumb animals on the plains and on the mountains. All these things were made for all in common solely for use and enjoyment; in terms of ownership they belong to no one.
But covetousness, like a tyrant, has intruded into life, so that its slaves and underlings have in various ways divided up that which the Master gave to be common to all. She has enclosed them by fences and made them secure by means of watchtowers, bolts and gates. She has deprived all other men of the enjoyment of the Master's good gifts, shamelessly pretending to own them, contending that she has wronged no one. But this tyrant's underlings and slaves in turn become, each one of them, evil slaves and keepers of the properties and monies entrusted to them. Even if they are moved by the threat of punishments... and take a few or even all of these things to give to those who are in poverty and distress whom they have hitherto ignored, how can they be accounted merciful? Have they fed Christ? Have they done a deed that is worthy of a reward? By no means! I tell you that they owe a debt of penitence to their dying day for all that they so long have kept back and deprived their brothers from using.
We awaken in Christ's body as Christ awakens our bodies, and my poor hand is Christ; He enters my foot and is infinitely me. I move my hand, and wonderfuly my hand becomes Christ, becomes all of Him (for God is indivisibly whole, seamless in His Godhood). I move my foot, and at once He appears like a flash of lightning. Do my words seem blasphemous? Then open your heart to Him, and let yourself receive the one who is opening to you so deeply. For if we genuinely love Him, we wake up inside Christ's body where all our body, all over, every most hidden part of it, is realized in joy as Him, and He makes us utterly real, and everything that is hurt, everything that seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful, maimed, ugly, irreparably damaged, is in Him transformed and recognized as whole, as lovely, and radiant in His light. We awaken as the Beloved in every part of our body.
When man again (will) be renewed and become spiritual, incorrupt and immortal, then also the whole creation, which has been subjected by God to man to serve him, (will) be delivered from servitude, (will) be renewed together with him, and become incorrupt, and, as it were, spiritual. All this the All-Merciful God foreordained before the creation of the world.
St. Theophan the Recluse (1815 - 1894)
The world, with its concepts, principles and rules, its entire system made into immutable law, lays a heavy, authoritarian hand on each of its offspring. As a result, no one dares even to think of rebelling against it or renouncing its power. Everyone... adheres to its rules with such timidity. A violation of these rules is considered as a criminal act.
The world is not a person, but its spirit in some way stands firm on the earth, influences us, and holds us as if with bonds. ...
Experience shows how frequently the mind, obscured by worldly ways, becomes sober through contemplation of divine creation....
Visible nature as the temple of God have not only often brought sense and sobriety to indifferent Christians, but have converted even pagans to true worship of God and devotion to Him.
Their power and influence come from the fact that they vividly and perceptibly offer the best, most blissful way of life for a spirit that is wearied, fatigued and tortured by the vanity of the world.
The world, with its concepts, principles and rules, in general its entire system made into immutable law, lays a heavy, authoritarian hand on each of its offspring. As a result, no one dares even to think of rebelling against it or renouncing its power. Everyone... adheres to its rules with such timidity. A violation of these rules is considered as a criminal act. The world is not a person, but its spirit in some way stands firm on the earth, influences us, and holds us as if with bonds....
Tertullian (160 - 230?)
Nature reflects the Resurrection
Gaze now on these examples of divine power. Day dies into night, and is everywhere entombed in shadows. All things grow dull, voiceless, dumb. Everywhere there is quiet and rest. And so we mourn for the lost light. And yet once more, with all its own beauty, its power, its sun, the same and unharmed, it revives for the universal world, slaying night, which is its death, rending asunder its own sepulcher of darkness....
De Resurrectione Carnis I
Renewal as a universal lesson in creation
Now winter and summer roll around in season, and the blessings of spring and autumn with their power and their fruits, while the earth receives from heaven the knowledge of how to clothe the trees after they are stripped bare, the knowledge of how to give color to flowers and spread the herbage over the earth again, and then those same seeds which were parched by the sun display themselves until at last they are consumed. Oh marvelous method of God, which preserves after denuding, which cuts only to restore, which destroys only to retain, which spoils only to renew, and diminishes only to enlarge. Indeed, by this miracle, greater and riper blessings are received than any which were taken away so that destruction becomes increase, and all loss is gain. Let me say again: the condition of all things is renewal. All things when they have departed return to their first condition. Nothing perishes save into salvation. Therefore the whole revolving wheel of existence bears witness to the resurrection of the dead.
De Resurrectione Carnis I
Simplicity and sufficiency
We do not urge that squalor and slovenliness are good things. We merely set forth the limit and bounds and just measure of bodily adornment. You must not overstep the line to which simple and sufficient dress requires.... Rather cloth yourself with the silk of honesty, the fine linen of righteousness and the purple of chastity.
On the Dress of Women 1
God teaches through creation
Nature is school-mistress, the soul the pupil; and whatever one has taught or the other has learned has come from God – the Teacher of the teacher.
De Testimonio Animae
