The contemporary ecological crisis constitutes one of the most urgent moral and spiritual challenges facing global religious traditions, demanding theological responses that transcend confessional boundaries and promote collaborative eco-justice engagement. Within the framework of the World Council of Churches' prophetic call for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation, this paper examines Orthodox liturgical tradition as a formative theological source for ecological responsibility and interreligious environmental ethics.
Focusing on Byzantine and post-Byzantine hymnographic texts, particularly ecological supplicatory liturgical material, the study explores how liturgical language expresses a sacramental vision of creation grounded in repentance, relational anthropology, and cosmic communion. Orthodox worship presents creation as an active participant in the divine economy, while portraying ecological degradation as the result of disrupted human vocation and broken communion between humanity, creation, and God.
Methodologically, the paper combines historical-liturgical textual analysis with constructive theological reflection, examining liturgy as a performative theological practice shaping ecological consciousness within faith communities. The research situates Orthodox ecological theology within broader ecumenical and interreligious eco-justice frameworks, highlighting convergences with other religious environmental ethics, particularly regarding stewardship and communal responsibility toward vulnerable ecosystems and marginalized human communities.
By presenting liturgy as a space of ecological formation and prophetic witness, the paper contributes to contemporary eco-theological discourse and supports the WCC vision of faith-based environmental solidarity, demonstrating how Orthodox hymnographic tradition offers historically grounded and spiritually transformative resources for interreligious dialogue and collective responses to ecological injustice.