Christians in a world in creation

This article by Panayotis Nellas, drawn from a lecture given in 1976 at Neamț (Romania), examines the responsibility of Christians in a world understood as a creation in the process of completion. Belonging to a theological reflection of the essay type, it articulates cosmology, anthropology and ecclesiology on the basis of the patristic tradition, notably that of Saint Maximus the Confessor. The central idea is that the creative dynamism inscribed by God in the world finds its authentic orientation and fulfillment in the Church, through the eucharistic integration of historical realities. Faced with contemporary crises — demographic, ecological, political — Christians are called to concrete work: discernment of scientific data, ascesis, prayer and missionary engagement. The major theological contribution lies in the transcending of a dichotomy between Church and world, by showing that the Liturgy constitutes the act by which creation is recapitulated, transfigured and offered to God.