“Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology” by Dr. Christina Nellist (vegan), Part 2 of 2

Dr. Nellist is also the co-founder and president of Pan-Orthodox Concern for Animals, a charity that promotes respect and responsibility for citizens of the animal kingdom. “If we could harness the power of love in our congregation to all of God’s creatures, our world would be so very different. This is what we try to do in Pan-Orthodox Concern for Animals. And climate change is a very clear example of how our mistreatment of both the animals and our environment has brought us to the brink of destruction.” As Dr. Nellist explains, true Christians should protect animal-people. “What we do believe is that if you truly believe, your life will reflect that belief. If we harm animals, our salvation is in jeopardy.”

Dr. Nellist’s books “Climate Crisis and Sustainable Creaturely Care” and “Climate Crisis and Creation Care” address how the consumption of animal-people meat and dairy has led to our global environmental crisis. “Our diet of eating animals and dairy products is the biggest single cause of the climate crisis, of CO2 and methane emissions. We use so many of the Earth’s resources to feed the animals. And in that inefficiency, in that waste, is linked our selfishness.” “We must be brave. Christ was brave. He stood up, and He told the Church at the time what was wrong. If we are to be Christ on this Earth, we are to do the same. We can change today. It may be tiny, but if there are millions of us today, we can have a significant impact on climate change. Christ gives us hope, and changing our diet gives us hope.”