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OPENING THE BOOK OF NATURE

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork (Psalm 19:1)

St. Maximos the Confessor (580 - 662) “Creation is a bible whose letters and syllables are the aspects of creatures and whose words are the universal aspects of creation. Conversely, scripture is like a cosmos constituted of heaven and earth and things in between...”

HAH Patriarch Bartholomew (1940 - ) “The Orthodox Church, following the teaching of the Holy scripture and Holy tradition, accepts that God created the very good, and that the poor functions of nature are a result of the disobedience of man to the correct path and way of life shown to him by God...Because the plunder and the destruction of the natural environment come chiefly from human greediness and egocentrism. Opposite to theis stand, he who loves the creator of the world and the natural environment, loves also his creation, because he respects it as the work of the one who loves him, and it is worthy of love and care. “

Fyodor Doestoyevski (1821-1881) Love all of God’s creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light! Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will soon perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.