Le Moine et la Nature dans la Tradition Ortodoxe

The familiarity that holy monks had with animals and nature in general is not merely an image of the  restoration of the Adamic state, but rather a prefiguration of the escathological era. This restoration can only be achieved “within Christ”, by the Cross and through the evangelical violence imposed on our fallen and corrupted beings. Through a process that includes a return to ourselves, repentment (metanoia) and temperance (enkrateia) the monks who have become aware of their responsibility in the process of death originating with the Creation, can once again enter into communion with God, thereby ensuring that all creation can participate with Him in the wonder of the deification (Theosis). The participation of monks in ecological movements can only be understood within a traditional framework of silent testimony that provides the Church with an example of this harmony, refound through repentment.