UGCC Office for Ecology launched official web site

On March 7 the UGCC Office for Ecology launched an official web site entitled "Responsibility for the Creation." Previously, the website worked for a month in test mode and so far has attracted great interest by Internet users.

“Responsibility for the Creation” is a purposeful effort to create a unique online resource which would create awareness of our responsibility for the world God created and the consciousness surrounding it.  The site would offer information on how to implement such an awareness, develop daily consciousness, recognition and care of God’s creation in the life of each person.

On our pages you can learn about the ecological teaching of Christian churches and learn about current environment protection initiatives of the Church. You can also get information about your daily personal and practical contributions to the protection and preservation of the environment. You can also find ecological instructions, prayers for the preservation of God's creation, and special liturgical services.

Clergy will find useful materials, advice and tips for fostering the environmental responsibility of Christians in their pastoral ministry.  This will be focused during catechesis, evangelization, liturgical and sacramental, as well as deacon's ministry.

Every Christian will get to know that a responsible attitude toward the environment is an obligation which stems from their faith in God the Creator and Savior. It is an essential component of everyday Christian life.

Additionally, our goal is to become a source of useful tips which would help everyone who is not indifferent to the environment, instructing them in how to use the natural resources bestowed by God in a more rational and efficient way and cause less damage to His creation.

We hope this web site will be useful for the ecumenical movement in Ukraine, since the environmental problems caused by human beings is a common challenge for all Christian churches and only a joint effort can overcome the existing ecological crisis.

We also hope that the "Responsibility for the Creation" will become a sort of discovery for the Ukrainian society, particularly for government environmental agencies and non-governmental ecological organizations. It may also become a discovery that the Church is not indifferent to environmental problems; that it treats the issue of preserving the world God created as an integral part of its mission. Respectively, this discovery could contribute to establishing a more fruitful dialogue between the Church and civil as well as state environmental organizations. A dialogue required in order to raise the level of ecological culture of the general population towards the preservation of the natural heritage of Ukraine, entrusted us by God.

You are welcome to visit our website: http://www.ecoburougcc.org.ua/

Your comments, suggestions and interesting information is certainly welcome and we will gladly publish it on our website - [email protected]

Responsibility for the world created by God  is the responsibility of everyone and we can fulfill it only through joint efforts. So let us not be ignorant, but let us strive for good luck and good results in this important initiative.

Dr. Volodymyr Sheremeta,
Chief of the UGCC Office for Ecology