Olet täällä

Don’t soil the Creator’s world of nature!

A human being is able to see, experience, hear and feel – unless, of course, he is for some reason insensitive to everything around him, everything on which his life actually depends.

We see the beauty of nature, but what else do we see at the same time?

I have walked along the streets and roads of the city this spring and have seen the amounts of litter that appear from under the melting snow: cigarette ends, sweet wrappers, beer cans, cigarette packets, juice cartons, polythene bags, vodka bottles and much more besides. How can people spoil the environment so with their litter?

By mentioning this I simply want to draw people’s attention to sustainable development and the ideal of a more ecological way of living.

It is the duty of Christians, including Orthodox Christians, to show respect for nature, and we have to start out from small things in order to aspire to great ones.

Why do we create ugliness just where we are looking for beauty?

When spring comes and then summer, the sun and the rain melt the snow away and all our secrets are revealed. Our misdeeds of the past winter are exposed.

We should instead be seeking after sustainable development, solutions that will stand the light of day.

Otherwise we may find ourselves worrying over what will become of us when the books are opened.

 

© Suomen ortodoksisen arkkipiispan kanslia, Liisankatu 29 A 8, 00170 Helsinki, puh. 020 6100 240, helsingin.hiippakunta@ort.fi