This week's staff pick comes from Elyse, who works the
desk and helps manage social media here at Holy Cross Bookstore. Her husband is
a third-year seminarian at Holy Cross.
Her pick, Living in Creation: Orthodox Perspectives on
Ecology, is by Elizabeth Theokritoff, a scholar and translator who studied
under Met. Kallistos Ware.
How did you first hear about this book?
A friend recommended it to me. And after reading the statements
that Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch released on the preservation of
the environment, I figured it was high time for me to start learning about the
subject.
Why does this book matter to you?
The natural world is very dear to me. As a child, I
loved playing in fields and rivers and forests. As an adult--particularly as an
Orthodox adult--I appreciate the natural world as being God's handiwork. It
physically pains me to see that handiwork trashed, pillaged, and disrespected.
While passionate arguments for conservation abound, without the context of the
created world belonging it Christ, they mean nothing. This book illuminates an
appropriately Christian love for the world without veering into dominionism or
idolatry.
What about this book did you find surprising?
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much of spiritual
substance here--perhaps a theological argument for recycling or something like
that. What I found instead was a thorough, reasonable overview of the Fathers,
scripture, and the liturgical and hymnographical traditions of the church. In
each chapter, Theokritoff asks, "What
does our tradition have to say about our relationship to the natural
world?"
I was also surprised to find so much about St. Maximos
in this book--and Theokritoff discussed him in a way that was easy to
understand. His idea of the "Logos" is so beautiful.
Who should read this book?
Anyone interested in theology, conservation, and the
role of beauty in our lives.
Thanks,
Elyse!
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