Orthodoxy and Animals

“It does not seem to me that the Gospel is speaking of the firmament of heaven as some remote habitation of God...because the divine is equally present in all things, and, in like manner, it pervades all creation and it does not exist separated from being, but the divine nature touches each element of being with equal honor, encompassing all things within itself.” - St Gregory of Nyssa, celebrated today (Jan. 10)

Thank you to everyone who has followed this page and shared posts!  I will not be updating it any more, but I have started a facebook page on the same theme and invite you to like/follow there  (www.facebook.com/orthodoxyandanimals).  The initial posts will be mostly reposts from here for awhile, but there are many new ones to come!

A student of spiritual knowledge...is he who esteems and studies God's wisdom mirrored in His creation, down to the least vestige of it; but he does this without any self-display or any hankering after human praise and glory, for he wishes to be a lover of God's wisdom in creation and not a lover of materialism." -St Gregory of Sinai

“When God, who is absolute fullness, brought creatures into existence, it was not done to fulfill any need but so that his creatures should be happy to share his likeness, and so that he himself might rejoice in the joy of his creatures as they draw inexhaustibly upon the Inexhaustible.”— St. Maximus the Confessor

"Everywhere and always God is with us, near to us and in us.  But we are not always with Him, since we do not remember Him...Take upon yourself this task - to make a habit of such recollection." - St Theophan the Recluse

"The world itself, by its well-ordered changes and movements, and by the fair appearance of all visible things, bears a testimony of its own, both that it has been created, and also that it could not have been created save by God, whose greatness and beauty are unutterable and invisible." - St Augustine

"For the power of God is always present, in contact with us...God is not in darkness or in place, but above both space and time, and qualities of objects. Wherefore neither is He at any time in a part, either as containing or as contained, either by limitation or by section. For what house will you build to Me? says the Lord. Nay, He has not even built one for Himself, since He cannot be contained. And though heaven be called His throne, not even thus is He contained, but He rests delighted in the creation." - St Clement of Alexandria

“Do you know that God gave us one more commandment, which is not recorded in Scripture? It is the commandment “love the trees."  When you plant a tree, you plant hope, you plant peace, you plant love, and you will receive God’s blessing.” - Elder Amphilochius of Patmos

"Love is an ontological first-principle. But love for God is inseparable from love for neighbour, love for God’s creation. Christianity also is a revealing of Divine-human love. It saves me, i.e. not only love for God but also love for man transfigures my nature. Love for those near, for brothers, the acts of love enter upon the path of my salvation, of my transfiguration. On the way of my salvation enters in love for animals and plants, for each thing close by, for stones, for rivers and seas, for hills and fields. By this too I am saved, all the world too is saved, it attains to illumination." - Nicholas Berdyaev

"My mind tells me that even the animals are better than me; so, I humble myself and obey them. Very early this morning, being tired from praying all night and exhausted because of my illness, I lay down to rest. After a while, I heard a kitten meowing outside my cell as if she needed something. I really wanted to rest, but I humbled myself and went against my own will. I obeyed the kitten and replied to her calling. I went to open the door. It had started to rain and I let her in so she wouldn’t get wet. What do you think then? Should I obey the animals or not? My thoughts tell me I should." - St Paisios

Fr Herman recalls a quiet moment when he was with Fr Seraphim [Rose] and their animals came up to them: Svir [the monastery dog] looking up devotedly and wagging his tail, and a lovely, white-pawed cat named Kisa standing quietly by.

"From your point of view," Fr Herman asked in a reflective mood, "what are animals all about?"

Fr Seraphim replied: "They have something to do with Paradise."

"You find stability at the moment when you discover that God is everywhere, that you do not need to seek him elsewhere...If you cannot find him here you will not find Him anywhere else." - Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

Abba Moses replied: '...In another way, however, it is possible to look upon God, for the manner of contemplating God may be conceived and understood in many ways. God is not only to be known in His blessed and incomprehensible being, for this is something which is reserved for His saints in the age to come. He is also to be known from the grandeur and beauty of His creatures, from His providence which governs the world day by day, from His righteousness and from the wonders which He shows to His saints in each generation. When we reflect on the measurelessness of His power and His unsleeping eye which looks upon the hidden things of the heart and which nothing can escape, we are filled with the deepest awe, marveling at Him and adoring Him. When we consider that He numbers the raindrops, the sand of the sea and the stars of heaven, we are amazed at the grandeur of His nature and His wisdom.'

 "A short time after this, as I was walking on my road to the villages,and magnifying the creatures of God, and thinking how magnificent, and beautiful, and powerful they are, I fell asleep. And the Spirit carried me away, and took me through a pathless place, through which a man could not travel, for it was situated in the midst of rocks; it was rugged and impassible on account of water. Having passed over this river, I came to a plain. I then bent down on my knees, and began to pray to the Lord, and to confess my sins." - Shepherd of Hermas

"'His [i.e., God's] confession is in earth and heaven." What is His confession? Is it the confession wherewith He confesses? No, but that whereby all things confess Him, all things cry aloud: the beauty of all things is in a manner their voice, whereby they praise God. The heaven cries out to God, "You made me, not I myself." Earth cries out, "You created me, not I myself. "How do they cry out? When you regard them, and findest this out, they cry out by your voice, they cry out by your regard. Regard the heavens, it is beautiful: observe the earth, it is beautiful: both together are very beautiful. He made them, He rules them, by His nod they are swayed, He orders their seasons, He renews their movements, by Himself He renews them. All these things then praise Him, whether in stillness or in motion, whether from earth below or from heaven above, whether in their old state or in their renewal." - St Augustine