"The environment-oriented mission of the Church primarily lies in the formation of "human ecology"", – the Professor Volodymyr Sheremeta

Sunday, 07 October 2012, 21:14

"The environment-oriented mission of the Church primarily lies in the formation of "human ecology": his or her faith, spirituality and morality, which are all the prerequisites of careful attitude towards the natural environment”, - this was reported by Professor Volodymyr Sheremeta, who is the Chief of the UGCC Office for Ecology, in his speech on the International Forum “ECO-invest 2012”, which took place from the 1st until the 3rd of October in the Centre for Business and Cultural Cooperation “Ukrainian House” in Kyiv. According to the professor, if we want to approach the solving of environmental problems seriously, and not already treat the symptoms, we should start mainly with the cleaning of the internal dirt, that is, human sinfulness, and with the shaping of the consciousness of personal responsibility for the nature, as well as, with the social responsibility and the responsibility before God in their inseparable interconnection.

However, according to the beliefs of the leader of the UGCC Office for Ecology, the Church, as a global network of parish communities and educational institutions of various levels, also has a great potential and calling for the implementation of "ecological diakonia", or the commandment of love; through the dissemination of practical information on how to witness the Christian faith in God the Creator through a more friendly attitude towards His creature - nature, in everyday life. His words, the Rapporteur, reiterated with the teachings of the Holy Father that "for the Church, practical efforts for nature conservation are not a special call of fashion, but the task which follows directly from the Christian faith."

The Chief of the UGCC Office for Ecology shared, with the audience, the information about the main directions of the Church Committee activities, which he represents, and about the basic educational projects and practical initiatives in the direction of Ecology. Among them, the ones that were worth special attention were the Lenten Ecological Initiative "Environmental conversion to save the creatures", the celebration of the all-Christian Ecological Holiday "Day of God the Creator", "The time of responsibility for the creation", the conduction of a nationwide contest "Responsibility for Creation", website "Responsibility for Creation" as well as the activities of the UGCC Office for the Ecology in social networks.

As to what concerns the issue of solving the problems of household waste, the UGCC Office for Ecology stressed that the factor of waste sorting cannot be the only solution, and that we should introduce the concept of “3 Rs” (from English – reduce, reuse, recycle), which is described in more details in the practical guide of the UGCC Office for Ecology “Environmental roadmap: small tips for major changes".

In the concluding part of his speech he emphasized the necessity for the joint action of all members of the social process for saving the world created by God; Dr. Sheremeta expressed his hope for the cooperation and for the authentic contribution of everyone.

Informational Service of the UGCC Office for Ecology