As we approach the end of 2022, we thought it was time to review some of the work we have undertaken and having done so, are thankful for the many opportunities God has presented us to share Orthodox teachings on Creation Care with both Orthodox Christians and people from other faiths and no faith.
In 2017 Dr Nellist was given the honour and blessing of the then Archbishop of Thyateira, Gregorios, and Met. Kallistos of Diokleia (Ware) to establish the POCA charity and website. In 2019, the blessing to continue this work was sought and given from the then newly appointed Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain.
Our first major initiative after the establishment of the charity and website was to produce the ‘CREATION CARE: CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY COURSE’. This is FREE and found on the Pan Orthodox Concern for Animals website –
www.panorthodoxconcernforanimals.org
This is a course for use in Christian parishes, youth groups, seminary institutions or for individual study. It may also provide a useful framework for homilies. This course establishes that concern and compassion for animals is not a modern phenomenon, but one found both in the Bible and in the earliest teachings of the Christian Church. It provides an anamnesis of a lesser-known Christian tradition, where all animals are loved and protected by God and that their suffering is against God’s will. It reminds us that in our role as Image, we should strive to reflect the Archetype in our lives. At times, it also highlights the soteriological implications of our abuse and exploitation of God’s non-human animal beings. It reminds us that by causing harm to animals or by our indifference to it, human salvation is in jeopardy. It is written to facilitate Church engagement with the subjects of climate change and animal suffering, which, though separate subjects, are interconnected. This course was originally written for an Orthodox audience. Our President was invited to speak at His All-Holiness Bartholomew’s Halki Summit 111 (2019) on behalf of the animal creation, who are frequently overlooked in Orthodox discussions. Whilst there she was asked by Met. Seraphim of Zimbabwe and Angola, to write a program on care for animals for his priests. This was then developed into the ‘Creation Care: Christian Responsibility Course’, which can be adapted by other denominations, as its teachings are universal. There are 7/8 Lessons each containing quotes from early and contemporary saints & theologians and end with discussion questions and quotation references for further study. The Lessons are:
- IN THE BEGINNING: GOD’S GOOD CREATION.
- COMPASSIONATE CARE: IMAGE OF GOD.
- WHAT IS DOMINION?
- BEHAVIOURAL GUIDANCE.
- SACRAMENTAL LIFE.
- WHAT IS SIN AGAINST ANIMALS?
- A ROLE FOR THE CHURCH.
- PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF RESPONSIBLE CARE.
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Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, public meetings during large parts of 20/21 were unlawful. Instead, numerous animal protection and scientific on-line zoom seminars were attended, and other initiatives were put in motion. We maintained our Facebook and Twitter engagement with the public by posting articles on aspects of creation care and related matters such as climate change on our website. www.panorthodoxconcernforanimals.org
We continued our collaboration and partnership with the Christian Ethics of Farmed Animal Welfare Research Project, with Met. Kallistos by collating his works from his private library for the Holy Gardens of Patmos library project; with the Animal Interfaith Alliance in the UK, with both Board and Patron representation, and on the Steering Committee dedicated to the ending of animal experimentation; with the Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration in the USA as Board member and where our President was an advisor on their ‘The Face of God’ film, which outlines teachings from Orthodoxy on Creation Care and Climate Change. https://faceofgodfilm.com/.
Met. Kallistos of Diokleia and friend. St John’s Monastery, Patmos.
(Photograph credit – I. Knights / www.charis-patmos.org)
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Another major initiative was to put out a call for chapters on ‘Creation Care and Climate Crisis, Justice and Sustainability’. This resulted in two substantial collections, which feature chapters by specialists with expertise in different disciplines, who wrote from different contexts, cultures, and religions. They came together to write with authority and clarity on various aspects of the climate crisis and care for the natural world. They wrote either from faith-based or secular perspectives but shared a vision and desire to explain why we are in this critical situation, ask difficult questions of us, governments, and civic leaders and explained how we might affect real change. Both were published In October, just before COP 26. Fr John Chryssavgis wrote the Foreword and Met. Kallistos of Diokleia (Ware) wrote the first chapter entitled: ‘An Integrated Theology: Compassion for Animals.’
Climate Crisis and Creation Care: Historical Perspectives, Ecological Integrity and Justice, ISBN 978-1-5275-742-5 Climate Crisis and Creation Care: Historical Perspectives, Ecological Integrity and Justice – Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Climate Crisis and Sustainable Creaturely Care: Integrated Theology, Governance and Justice. ISBN 978-1-5275-7421-2 Climate Crisis and Sustainable Creaturely Care: Integrated Theology, Governance and Justice – Cambridge Scholars Publishing
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An invitation for POCA to participate in an intriguing research project and exploration of a contemporary Hexaemeron, was received from Prof. Catherine (Kate) Rigby in her capacity of Professor of Environmental Humanities at Bath Spa University and Adjunct Professor at Monash University. Her purpose is to identify and communicate examples of faith-based biodiversity conservation initiatives being undertaken by Christian and /or multi-faith communities and organisations in different parts of the world. Participating in this research provided POCA with the opportunity to share the story of our initiative, alongside Orthodox teachings on Creation Care. It also affords us opportunities for networking with others involved in similar initiatives elsewhere, which we view as opportunities for mission. The book will be published in 2023 and our work will be part of the reflection on the sixth day.
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With the blessing of Met. Kallistos, our next initiative was to further develop the POCA charity by including a Theological Advisory Group. After discussion with Met. Kallistos, two senior Orthodox theologians were invited to join POCA, and both accepted. Fr. Dr. John C h r y s s a v g i s is Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, serving as theological advisor to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew; the second is Archimandrite Jack Khalil who is Dean of the St John of Damascus Institute of Theology – University of Balamand in Lebanon and Professor of New Testament. This addition to our structure, further enables us to move the subject of animals, their welfare/suffering and place in God’s creation, away from the edges of Orthodox theological discussions and towards a more suitable position in mainstream theology.
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In February 2022 our President was invited by Prof. Paula Brugger of the Environmental Justice Observatory at the Federal University of Santa Catanna (UFSC), Brazil, to give a lecture to the students and staff at their annual Summer School about her environmental and animal protection work over the past five decades. She chose as her overarching theme, why theology was an important and often neglected part of animal protection. A video on this talk is available here: https://youtu.be/icEHTPdUcVs
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In March our President was invited to write an Amicus Curiae brief by Steve Wise of the NoN-Human Rights Project on behalf of ‘Happy’ the Elephant. For those of you who do not know their work, see https://www.nonhumanrights.org/who-we-are/. Dr Nellist used three arguments:
.1) Using early Orthodox Christian teachings on the Trinity, she explained why the original use of the word ‘person’ a) should not have been ascribed to humans; b) nor used to distinguish between or separate human beings from non-human beings. She then argued how a modern contextualization of those teachings can inform contemporary discussions and legal decisions. 2) Using the philosophical tool of False Dilemma, she explained why this debate continues to be unresolved. 3) That laws and the science pertaining to this issue have changed over these past 1500 years, thus setting the precedent for further changes in the law on this issue to better reflect the science and social norms of contemporary society. She argued that these main points offered the court the opportunity to amend the law so that it better reflects the contemporary science and social recognition that differences between human beings and non-human beings is a matter of degree, not of kind. She argued that whichever term the court chooses to use – be it ‘person’, ‘being’ or some other word, it should be applied to both human and non-human animal beings. After writing the brief, Dr Nellist invited some of our supporters who are also senior academics to collaborate with her on the final draft and become co-signatories. These were Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis, Deputy Director, Volos Academy for Theological Studies, Volos, Greece; Prof. Eleni Panagiotarakou, Faculty of Philosophy, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; Prof. Ekaterini Tsalampouni, Faculty of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, and Dr Razvan Porumb, Vice-Principal, The Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge, United Kingdom. The Amici Curiae brief was presented to the Court of Appeals of the State of New York and for the first time, resulted in two significant dissenting opinions.
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Also in March, we responded to the tragedy of the Ukrainian people fleeing from war. We had all been touched by refugees who were struggling to bring their animals out of Ukraine. Sometimes their animals were their only possession. Our question regarding quarantine and what was being done to help refugees and their animals coming to the UK, was asked on the BBC news channel. One respondent gave the usual comment – basically ‘people and children first’. The second response was far more considered and was from the BBC Home Affairs correspondent, who stated that he doubted if the government had even considered the question, which he felt was an important issue. He recognized that many if not most would not have the paperwork. We thanked the BBC for airing this question. We also asked people on our FB and Twitter pages to write to their M.Ps. We established a FB Fundraising page and raised £330, which was spent on food for the Sumy Animal Rescue Centre, where we have supporters. Just as importantly our question was taken up Lord Goldsmith on behalf of the government who within days, streamlined the system. Emergency support was put in place for people fleeing Ukraine and entering the UK with their pets, with the Government covering the costs of any necessary stays in quarantine for the pets of those fleeing Ukraine.
Food at the Sumy Shelter bought with the funds from our Facebook Ukrainian Fundraising Appeal
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In May our representatives attended an Animal Think Tank conference which explored the use of language and the power of narrative as a force for social change. A key tool of narrative exploration is using corpus linguistics, which analyses public discourse and can help determine the language, frames, metaphors, shared values, and mental models that will most activate people’s support of animal protection issues.
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In June, our President was given the honour of presenting at the first conference on “Eco wellbeing: Ethics, Animals and the Environment” at the famous Halki Theological School, on the island of Halki. This was attended by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and many clergy and seminarians. It was organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, together with the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, as part of their MA Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law programme, and the Hellenic Pasteur Institute. A video of this lecture is here – https://youtu.be/m02UYRh46vM.
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Also in June, our President was interviewed by Paula Sparks of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Law, for their Talking Animal Law Podcast Series. This will be a first time a theologian has been asked to give opinions on animal protection and law. Again, this is another opportunity for us to witness to others from a completely different profession. This is forthcoming in 2023.
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At the end of June, we were Invited by the Volos Academy to be part of their panel at the European Academy of Religion Conference in Bologna, Italy where our President presented a paper on ‘Creation Care, Christian Responsibility: Practical Proposals for Parish Priests.’
A video of this talk will be available on our YouTube site when completed.
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At the end of June, we were in the Palace of Westminster supporting the work of Eduardo Goncalves (center) and attending the Parliamentary reception for the first reading of the Ban Trophy Hunting Imports Bill and the publication of the All-Party Report on Trophy Hunting.
In the Palace of Westminster (UK Parliament) with Eduardo Goncalves, Founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting and Judith Wilson from Quaker Concern for Animals and Animal Interfaith Alliance. See www.BanTrophyHunting.org for more information on this important work.
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In August our President attended the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics Summer Conference, which this year was dedicated to discussions and presentation on Animals and Public Policy. We are witnessing a change in attitudes to animals – from the idea that they are tools, machines, commodities, here for our use, to the idea that they are sentient beings who have intrinsic value, dignity, and rights. The Summer School discussed how that change of attitude should be embodied, implemented, and institutionalized in public policy, including legislation, education, business, arts, sciences, literature, and religion. Our President is a Fellow at the Centre and regularly attends and occasionally presents at these conferences.
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In September our President attended the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law Conference to hear the latest developments in Animal Law.
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POCA’s Annual General Meeting was held this time at midday so that one of our supporters from Australia could attend and speak about the plight of Animals in Australia and her desire to involve the Orthodox Church in meaningful engagement on the subject.
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In October, our President and one of our Trustees attended the Animal Aid celebration of the work XCellR8 laboratory’s project to replace the widely discredited LD50 toxicity test, which currently uses over 80,000 animals per year in the EU alone, despite being widely discredited both ethically and scientifically. POCA President Dr Nellist has written on animal experimentation, denouncing it as a sin and contrary to the teachings of Christ and Orthodoxy. We are pleased to announce that in the USA, The FDA Modernization Act has now been approved by both houses of the US congress. This will no longer require animal testing as a legal requirement. From as long ago as 2004, the FDA recognized the shockingly high failure rate, 90-97%, of the animal testing model. It is also recognized both by the FDA and ‘big pharma’ that from the small percentage that are given licenses, many drugs are withdrawn due to safety concerns to human health, which included deaths. See https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/center-for-contemporary-sciences-ccs-applauds-congress-for-passing-the-fda-modernization-act-that-will-save-millions-of-lives-301709763.html.
This puts the US well ahead of the UK in terms of legislation to actively encourage the replacement of outdated and failing animal testing with human based 21st century technology. We shall continue the fight to end this abomination.
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Also in October, our President was Interviewed by Dr Lois Sprague, President of The Guibord Center in the USA www.TheGuibordCenter.org They have asked us to produce a short video on our work and our faith for their ‘The Animals, Faith and Creation’ initiative which is focused on the values that different spiritual traditions teach about our responsibility to care for all Creation and to treat it as a sacred gift. See How Different Faiths See Animals and Our Relationship with Them – The Guibord Center
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In November one of our representatives attended the Remembrance Service at the Animals in War Memorial in London, on behalf of Pan Orthodox Concern for Animals and the Animal Interfaith Alliance. This was another wonderfully moving service on behalf of the millions of animals who died and are still dying in human conflict.
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Also in November, it was back to the Palace of Westminster for the Parliamentary celebration of the passing of the Second Reading of the Ban Trophy Hunting Imports Bill. Here our President met with Dame Jane Goodall, who has already kindly agreed to do a short video for us as she was unable to participate as hoped, on our panel on Creation Care Christian Responsibility at the forthcoming IOTA conference in Volos in January. Dr Nellist also spoke again with Lord Goldsmith who will send through some of his short addresses for the website.
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In early December the final interview was undertaken, with Prof Kate Rigby for her forthcoming book on the Hexaemeron, where the work of Pan Orthodox Concern for Animals is discussed in Kate’s reflection of the 6th Day of Creation.
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As December closes, the finishing touches are being made to two papers being presented at the POCA initiative Creation Care Christian Responsibility Panel at the International Orthodox Theological Conference in Volos in January. Dr Christina will give a short dedication to our inaugural Patron and Founder Met. Kallistos of Diokleia, followed by a discussion of his life-long concern for animals and the environment. Her paper is entitled: CREATION CARE: METROPOLITAN KALLISTOS OF DIOKLEIA’S TEACHINGS ON ORTHODOXY, ANIMALS AND NATURE. Fr Simon Nellist, retired Archpriest of Tanzania, and Treasurer of POCA, will give a paper entitled: THE MISSION FIELDS OF COMPASSIONATE ACTIVISM. At the end of the session Dr Nellist will put out a notice asking for people to contact her with information of groups or initiatives that Met. Kallistos was involved in.
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As you have seen, these past few years have given us many opportunities to promote the important subject of Creation Care both within and outside of Orthodoxy. We shall continue to ask for guidance from our forever Patron, who we are convinced will help us from his new home with the Fathers and Saints in the Kingdom. We have received numerous emails from Orthodox Christians and others informing us of how our work and the material that we have produced on our website, has helped them in a variety of ways and we are profoundly humbled and grateful to have received each one of them. Your help and support will also be vital to our continued progress.
With love in Christ to you all for a blessed and healthy 2023.
