Animals in Orthodox thought I

This article by Tatiana Goritcheva constitutes the first of a two-part study devoted to the place of animals in Orthodox thought, written in a context of growing concern for the preservation of creation. The author adopts a meditative and theological approach, drawing on patristic sources, modern philosophy and hagiographic accounts. Her central thesis is that the Orthodox tradition possesses exceptional doctrinal resources for thinking about the relationship between humanity and the animal world, but that these resources remain largely unexplored. Drawing on Gregory of Nyssa, Isaac the Syrian, Symeon the New Theologian and accounts of the saints, the article shows that animals participate in the economy of salvation and that the fall of humanity has affected the whole of creation. The theological contribution lies in the illumination of an Orthodox cosmology that integrates animals as partners in the divine covenant and potential subjects of transfiguration.