Orthodox reflections on Environmental Stewardship for a Sustainable Environment

Abstract

This article explores the ethical foundations necessary for achieving a sustainable environment in the 21st century, a period marked by serious ecological crises and global environmental challenges. Although no specific Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) is labelled “environmental ethics,” SDG 12, which promotes responsible consumption and production, and SDG 15, which focuses on protecting life on land, strongly reflect the principles of environmental ethics and sustainability. This study employs a qualitative descriptive analytical design through a systematic literature review. The discussion draws on the perspective of the Orthodox Church as an important Christian approach to environmental responsibility. It also considers philosophical viewpoints on environmental sustainability through the ideas of influential thinkers such as Plato, John Locke, and Martin Heidegger. Environmental ethics is presented as the responsibility humans have to act morally toward nature and ensure the sustainability of the natural world. The article argues that the moral relationship between humanity and the environment is weakening due to factors such as rapid population growth, fossil fuel consumption, deforestation, industrialisation, and excessive capitalist greed. These activities are causing severe environmental degradation and threatening the biodiversity of the planet. Increased production and consumption of goods and energy continue with little concern for environmental protection, while humans fail to take sufficient responsibility for preventing ecological destruction. From a biocentric ethical perspective, all forms of life, including plants, animals, and even non-sentient living organisms, possess intrinsic value and deserve moral consideration. Therefore, ethical principles should guide human interaction with nature, which should be respected rather than treated merely as an object for exploitation. The article concludes that environmental care should be firmly integrated into Christian biblical and theological teachings, encouraging Christians to fulfil their God-given duty as responsible stewards of creation.