“The whole world is a living icon of the face of God.”
St John Damascene
In 1989 the Ecumenical Patriarch suggested that 1st September, the first day of the Orthodox Church’s year, should be observed as a day of protection of the natural environment. Ten years later the European Christian Environmental Network widened this proposal, urging churches to adopt a Time for Creation stretching from 1 September to the feast of St Francis (4 October) and this was endorsed by the European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu, Romania in 2007, which recommended that the period ‘be dedicated to prayer for the protection of Creation and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles that reverse our contribution to climate change.’ The Scottish Episcopal Church has now developed liturgies to focus our prayer and action during these weeks of Creation-time.
The Cathedral’s own ongoing response to the climate crisis we face, can be found in this document: Regenerative Cathedral