Christian Asceticism and Sustainable Lifestyle: A Dialogue Between Ecotheology and the Orthodox Theologian Elizabeth Theokritoff
Article Sidebar
How to Cite
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Main Article Content
Abstract
The article explores the original contribution of Orthodox theologian Elizabeth Theokritoff to ecotheology, particularly her proposal to integrate Christian asceticism into a sustainable lifestyle. Drawing from Eastern patristic theology, Theokritoff argues that Christian ascesis does not imply a disdain for the material world but rather self-limitation to overcome consumerism and establish a relationship of communion with creation. She highlights God's immanence in creation through the logoi present in every creature, which are manifested in the incarnate Word (Christ) and fulfilled in the eschatological glorification of matter. The author integrates the ascetic ethos into the Eucharistic and sacramental ethos, avoiding a reduction of ascesis to mere rules. Her approach enables a positive vision of the human body and matter as destined to partake in God's glory, a spirituality that embraces creation as part of God's salvific plan, and a novel path for ecological conversion from a Christian perspective.
References
Ancilli, E. (1987). Ascesis. En E. Ancilli (Dir.). Diccionario de espiritualidad (pp.171-187). Barcelona: Herder.
Bartolomé I. (2015). Nostra Madre Terra. Magnano: Qiqajon
Bernard, Ch. (1993). Ascese. En S. de Fiores y T. Goffi (Dir.). Dicionário de espiritualidade (pp. 50-59). São Paulo: Paulus.
Boff, L. (2015). Ecologia Grito da Terra, Grito dos Pobres. Petrópolis: Vozes.
Boff, L. (2017). Sustentabilidade. O que é o que não é. Petrópolis: Vozes.
Carlotti, P. (2021). Temperança. En P. Benanti, F. Compagnoni, A. Fumagalli y G. Piana (Orgs.). Dicionário de teologia moral (pp.1031-1039). São Leopoldo: Unisinos.
Carson, R. (2012). El sentido del asombro. Madrid: Encuentro.
Christie, D. E. (2013). The Blue Sapphire of the Mind. Notes for a Contemplative Ecology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Chryssavgis, J. (2019). Creation as Sacrament. Reflections on Ecology and Spirituality. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Clément, O. (2024). Cristo, tierra de los vivos. Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme.
Clímaco, J. (1998). La escala espiritual. Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme.
Deanne-Drummond, C. (2008). Eco-Theology. Winona: Anselm Academic.
Deane-Drummond, C. (2017). A Primer in Ecotheology. Theology for a Fragile Earth. Eugene: Cascade Books.
De Sarov, S. (1989). Instruções espirituais. São Paulo: Editora Paulinas.
Ecker, A., Nüssel, F. y Tosun, J. (2024). Pope Francis the Roman Catholic Church and Citizen Attitudes towards Climate Change in Latin America. npj Climate Action, 3, Article number 25.
Euvé, F. (2021). Théologie de l’écologie. Une Création à partager. Paris: Salvador.
Florenski, P. (2010). La columna y el fundamento de la verdad. Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme.
Fraling, B. (1993). Ascesis. En H. Rotter y G. Virt. Nuevo diccionario de moral cristiana (pp. 38-42). Barcelona: Herder.
Francisco. (2015). Laudato si’. Sobre el cuidado de la casa común. Madrid: San Pablo.
Francisco. (2023). Exhortación apostólica. Laudate Deum. Sobre la crisis climática. Madrid: San Pablo.
Guridi, R. (2018). Ecoteología: hacia un nuevo estilo de vida. Santiago de Chile: Universidad Alberto Hurtado.
Hessel, D. T. y Radford Ruether, R. (Eds.). (2000). Christianity and Ecology. Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
John Zizioulas Foundation. (2024). Ascetic Ethos. https://zizioulas.org/theology/ascetic-ethos
Juan Pablo II. (2001, 17 de enero). Audiencia general. El compromiso por evitar la catástrofe ecológica. La Santa Sede. https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/es/audiences/2001/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_20010117.html
Juan Pablo II. (2003). Exhortación apostólica Pastores gregis. Roma: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Mallarach, J. M. y Papayannis, T. (Eds.). (2007). Protected Areas and Spirituality. Proceedings of the First Workshop of the Delos Initiative. Gland: IUCN.
Maniates, M. y Meyer, J. M. (2010). The Environmental Politics of Sacrifice. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Moltmann, J. (1987). Dios en la creación. Doctrina ecológica de la creación. Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme.
Murad, A. (Dir.). (2016). Ecoteologia: um mosaico. São Paulo: Paulus Editora.
Murad, A. (2022). Janelas abertas. Fé cristã e ecologia integral. São Paulo: Editora Paulinas.
Ormerod, N. y Vanin, C. (2016). Ecological Conversion: What Does it Mean? Theological Studies, 77(2), 328-352.
Padre Andrés. (2009, 1 de marzo). Mensagem de S. S. BARTOLOMEU I, Patriarca Ecumênico, por ocasião do início da Grande Quaresma. Ecclesia News. https://ecclesia.org.br/news/?p=28
Padre Andrés. (2019, 18 de julio). “PATRIARCA VERDE”: O Patriarca Ecumênico Bartolomeu e a Proteção do Meio Ambiente. Ecclesia News. https://ecclesia.org.br/news/?p=26850
Pérez Prieto, V. (2023). Hacia una ecoteología. Barcelona: Fragmenta Editorial.
Rasmussen, L. L. (2013). Earth-Honoring Faith. Religious Ethics in a New Key. New York: Oxford University Press.
Riechmann, J. (2011). ¿Cómo vivir? Acerca de la vida buena. Madrid: Los Libros de La Catarata.
Riechmann, J. (2012). Interdependientes y ecodependientes. Ensayos desde la ética ecológica (y hacia ella). Barcelona: Proteus.
Riechmann, J. (2015). Autoconstrucción. La transformación cultural que necesitamos. Madrid: Los Libros de La Catarata.
São Bento. (s.f.). Regra do glorioso patriarca São Bento. https://www.asg.org.br/images/saoBento/RegraSB.pdf
Susin, L. C. y Zampieri, G. (2015). A vida dos outros. Ética e teologia da libertação animal. São Paulo: Editora Paulinas.
Tatay, J. (2018). Ecología integral. La recepción católica del reto de la sostenibilidad. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos (BAC).
Tatay, J. (2019). Creer en la sostenibilidad. Las religiones ante el reto medioambiental. Barcelona: Cristianisme i Justicia.
Tavares, S. (2022). Ecologia e decolonialidade. Implicações mútuas. São Paulo: Editora Paulinas.
The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodoxy Church. (2016). The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today. https://www.holycouncil.org/fasting
Theokritoff, E. (1994, August 20). The Orthodox Church and the Environmental Movement. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. https://www.goarch.org/-/the-orthodox-church-and-the-environmental-movement
Theokritoff, E. (1995, August 20). “Thine of Thine Own”: Orthodoxy and Ecology. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. https://www.goarch.org/society-articles/-/asset_publisher/zg5D5ENaCTK9/content/id/2202629/pop_up
Theokrittof, E. (2005). Creation and Priesthood in Modern Orthodox Thinking. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 10(3), 344-363.
Theokritoff, E. (2008). A Eucharistic and Ascetic Ethos: Orthodox Christianity and the Environment. The Shap Calendar Group. https://shapcalendar.org.uk/journals/articles_0809/theokritoff.pdf
Theokritoff, E. (2009a). Creator and Creation. In E. Theokritoff and M. B. Cunningham (Eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Orthodox Christian. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/world/the-cambridge-companion-to-orthodox-christian-theology/#0_9
Theokritoff, E. (2009b). Abitare la terra. Una visione cristiana dell’ecologia. Magnano: Qiqajon.
Theokritoff, E. (2012). The Book of the Word: Reading God’s Creation. Center for Christian Ethics, 20-27. https://ifl.web.baylor.edu/sites/g/files/ecbvkj771/files/2022-11/CaringforCreationArticleTheokritoff.pdf
Theokritoff, E., Azar, M. y Linsinbigler, H. (2016, June 13). Fasting, the Church, and the World. Public Orthodoxy. https://publicorthodoxy.org/2016/06/13/fasting-the-church-and-the-world
Theokritoff, E. (2017). Green Patriarch, Green Patristics: Reclaiming the Deep Ecology of Christian Tradition. Religions, 8(7), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8070116
Theokritoff, E. (2021). The Ascetic Vision: An Orthodox Christian Contribution. Green Christian. https://greenchristian.org.uk/cop26-reflection-from-elizabeth-theokritoff/
Ware, K. (2019). O caminho Ortodoxo. https://ortodoxia.pt/data/KWare-caminho-ortodoxo.pdf