Père Ignace Peckstadt

This article by Father Ignace Peckstadt, priest of the Flemish parish of Saint Andrew in Ghent, originates from a paper presented at an Orthodox congress. Belonging to the genre of pastoral meditation enriched with personal examples, it addresses the scriptural tension between the rejection of the world and God's love for it. The author argues that the Orthodox Christian is not called to flee the world, but to transfigure it by shining within it as an icon of Christ. Structured around spiritual freedom, the welcoming of the other, and thanksgiving, the presentation shows that professional, family, and liturgical life form an inseparable whole. On the theological level, it highlights the "royal priesthood" of all the baptized and the Divine Liturgy as the source and extension of all Christian mission in the world.

This article examines the position of the Orthodox Church regarding the growing practice of cremation in contemporary Western societies, taking the Belgian context as its starting point. Written in the form of a structured theological reflection, it articulates the biblical, patristic and liturgical foundations that motivate the Orthodox rejection of cremation. The author shows that burial is not a mere cultural custom, but a practice rooted in faith in the resurrection of the body, attested by the entombment of Christ himself. He also emphasizes that cremation undermines the centuries-old tradition of venerating the relics of the saints, which bear the energies of the Spirit. The theological contribution of the article lies in the coherent interconnection of Orthodox eschatology, Christian anthropology and funeral liturgy, demonstrating that the treatment of the deceased body constitutes an act of faith in the resurrection.