FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Does the Church forbid the neutering of animals?A. No.  This is a frequent claim but one that is not based upon fact. In our forthcoming interviews with Met. Kallistos of Diokleia and Bishop Isaias of Tamasou & Orinis, both discuss how the Church welcomes this veterinary procedure as a way of preventing unwanted animals and acknowledge the health benefits to animals of having this procedure.

See these links for other information:
Q. Is the status of an animal’s soul relevant to the way they are treated?
A. No. The status of an animal’s soul should have nothing to do with the way animals are treated.  They should be treated with loving compassion, for we as Image, are to reflect God’s loving compassion for all of His created beings.
Q. Can we be Vegan or Vegetarian and Orthodox?
A. Of course! God’s original choice of food for us was never rescinded. According to the Church Fathers God granted a dispensation to those with hardened hearts as part of His salvific plan for the errant human creature, but He did not take away His ideal diet. Although the Orthodox church is not Vegan or Vegetarian as such, the permanence and validity of God’s diet is evidenced in the instructions by the Church to be Vegan or Vegetarian at different times throughout the year.