On the eve of the Feast of Indiction, the Service of Great Vespers for the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment was celebrated at St. Eleftherios Greek Orthodox Church in New York City by Fr. Nicolas Kazarian, St. Eleftherios parish priest and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Director of the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations. The hymns for the Service of Great Vespers were chanted by Master Chanter of St. Nicholas National Shrine, Dimitrios Katsiklis.
Attended by faithful from the NYC area, the service was followed by dinner and an ecumenical panel discussion on the importance of environmental stewardship in the Christian life.
The Great Vespers for the Preservation of Creation was composed on Mount Athos by Monk Gerasimos of the Skete of Saint Anne—who was a hymnographer of the Great Church of Christ. The service, especially composed to celebrate the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment proclaimed in 1989, heavily integrates themes of repentance for humanity’s destruction of nature, cosmic renewal through Christ, and Old Testament readings (like Leviticus and Isaiah) that link human righteousness with the fertility of the earth.
> Previously: Cosmic worship, cosmic witness: Orthodox Vespers for the Preservation of Creation
“Put an end, O Savior, to the evil designs which are being devised against us by senseless intent, and turn aside from the earth every destructive action of the works of human hands which contrive corruption leading to perdition.”
This celebration of the Day of Prayer for Creation marked the start of the Archdiocese’s new Green Church Initiative. The initiative, managed by Lily Talmers within the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations, will develop resources and programs to support efforts by parishes to embrace the environmental theology of the Orthodox Church and undertake steps to integrate environmental sustainability practices into parish life.
Following Great Vespers, a panel discussion was held in the community hall and featured three notable speakers—Dr. Chris Durante from St. Peter’s University; Lily Kerhualas, a Ph.D. candidate from Fordham University; and Christina Leano, the Associate Director of the Laudito Si Movement in New York. As Project Manager of the Green Church Initiative, Lily Talmers moderated the discussion.
The panelists examined the relationship between Christian faith and environmental stewardship, emphasizing the role of humanity as stewards called to care for God’s creation. They discussed the importance of appreciating and being connected to creation within the spiritual life and the responsibility of Christians to approach the natural world with gratitude and reverence.
“Our encounter with Christ has to lead us deeper into our relationship with creation,” Christina Leano said. “So to care for creation is not an extra thing, an add-on, but actually a constitutive dimension of what it means to follow Christ.”
The discussion also considered how the natural world alludes to God’s presence in the world and has long been the site of revelation.
“That takes us actually going outside and turning our attention towards the environment, to the natural world,” said Lily Kerhulas. “Thinking from a Christian standpoint opens up the possibility of revelation.”
The panelists also addressed the challenges in bridging the gap between public awareness and collective action around climate change and environmental degradation, particularly amid frequent reports of environmental disasters and growing feelings of hopelessness in mitigation pollution and environmental destruction.
Leano spoke of the importance of acknowledging the suffering associated with environmental degradation rather than becoming indifferent to it.
“We need to hold the suffering in our hearts,” Leano said. “We can’t ignore it. And that’s part of our work is to allow our hearts to be broken.”
Dr. Chris Durante approached environmental stewardship through the question of human flourishing, asking what conditions allow individuals, families, and communities to live well. He contrasted that understanding with a culture increasingly shaped by the pursuit of material accumulation and consumption.
“We want a life lived well, we want well-being, happiness, and prosperity for our kin and our children going into the future. Look towards the book of nature, towards what that flourishing actually is,” Durante said. “The good life in the terms of a holistic understanding that isn’t just buying into some corporation’s version of it they’re advertising to you.”
Kerhulas further connected the Christian pursuit of theosis with environmental stewardship, describing creation as a means through which humanity can enter into deeper communion with God. Leano encouraged an approach to environmental work rooted in gratitude, hope, and community, describing creation as a “joyful mystery to be contemplated.”
