Greetings in the Lord! The reflections on this blog stem from Russian Orthodox Christian tradition as unworthily trying to be lived by a sinful country priest, may God help. In our region of Northern Appalachia, Tall Timbers, the nature preserve pictured above, includes old-growth hemlock trees. The Orthodox Cross on our rural mission land (pictured below) is made from hemlock wood. You can see a sequence of two photos below during the blessing of that Cross by Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan (now Metropolitan Nicholas, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia). The downpour that came quickly amplified the blessing of the holy water, in effect baptizing and watering the Church’s growth, glory to God! For a fuller introduction reflecting on the Orthodox mission to Northern Appalachia today, please follow this link. An explanation of terms peculiar to this blog, especially ecopoetics and ecosemiotics and their relation to Christian tradition, follows below. My poor thoughts, needless to say, are not those of my secular employer or of the Church, but may they be harmless and the reader be blessed. Welcome! And Glory to God!
Below are definitions of some terms basic to this blog’s discussions.
“Ecosemiotics,” oikos [home] + semiosis,” is a field of study focusing on the making of meaning in the context of home. It draws on the idea of semiosis or “making of meaning” developed by the 19th-century Anglican-Christian philosopher Charles Peirce, of Milford, Pennsylvania. It has been developed by Timo Maran and other scholars in Estonia. “The making of meaning of home,” with environmental connotations.
“Ecopoetics,” a related term, stems from oikos + poiesis, or “the shaping of home,” which in Christian terms highlights meaning in Creation.
Orthodox Christian apologetic theology involves highlighting both “the meaning of home” and ecopoetic meaning in Creation, in relation to Jesus Christ and His Church, as part of helping to engage people culturally with the truth of Christianity. Orthodox apologetic theology is articulated in modern terms especially in writings by Prof. I.M. Andreyev and the Orthodox “Christian existentialist” philosopher-writer S.L. Frank, as well as arguably in the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Orthodox Christian “social teachings.” For application of Orthodox Tradition about life on earth to current issues, see also the “Social Concept” (2000) and “Human Dignity” (2008) documents of the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Christian meanings of Logos, and its relation to “ecology.” Logos in Greek famously has multiple meanings in English of “story,” “word,” “harmony,” “purpose,” “reason,” “bond,” “intermediary,” “unifying principle,” “verb,” “message.” Together with the term oikos, these two Greek words form the roots for our modern term ecology, “story of home,” or “meaning of home,” which can be considered in Christian apologetics and ecosemiotics as a reflection on life as meaning.
The Logos in Orthodox Christianity is the Word, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. The logoi of the Logos, the words of the Word, can be thought of as articulating the redeeming uncreated energies of God or grace, while also constituting the purpose of all beings and non-being in Christ. Creation is in Christ, as “In the beginning was the Word” combines with “In the beginning [the Word], God created the heaven and the earth.” Life in Jesus Christ, a divinely personal living, distinguishes this Christian “pansemiotism” or panentheism (all in God) from neopagan or New Age ideas of the latter term. The Logos of God is the source of Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Church that defines and shapes Scripture, inspired also by the Holy Spirit, “which spake through the Prophets,” and in which the New Testament Church as Israel is grounded in Pentecost by her Liturgy and in noetic prayer and living. Glory to God for all things!
Above: Orthodoxy at the Shikellamy Overlook? Below: Asking your prayers.
