VIII. Science, technology and the natural world

This article constitutes the eighth chapter of an Orthodox Church document on the relationship between faith, science, technology, and the natural world. Belonging to the genre of doctrinal and pastoral declaration, it addresses the question of contemporary technological development in the light of the theology of creation. The central idea is that the created world, though marked by sin, remains a divine gift of which humanity is called to be the priestly guardian, according to the vision of Saint Maximus the Confessor. The article successively examines medical, digital, and environmental technologies, proposing a case-by-case discernment grounded in Orthodox tradition. Its theological contribution lies in the articulation of an ecological and technological ethics rooted in a eucharistic and cosmic vision of creation, including responsibility toward animals and the whole of the created cosmos.