An important Agreed Statement on ecology was published by the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox Churches on Monday 18 October. This is the work of the International Commission for Anglican–Orthodox Theological Dialogue (ICAOTD), which brings together theologians from around the world from both families of Churches. The text was completed in a meeting at Canterbury Cathedral.

Stewards of Creation: A Hope-Filled Ecology sets out a distinctive way to speak of our place in the created order. It builds on the Commission’s previous work, In the Image and Likeness of God: A Hope-Filled Anthropology, and considers the implications of the Christian understanding of the human person for how we should live as part of creation.  This report speaks an important message at a time of great urgency. The environmental crisis deepens, and there is a deep need for everyone to enrich their sense of the givenness and beauty of God’s world.

The Rt Revd Richard Clarke is Co-Chair of the Commission and Metropolitan Athenagoras of Belgium (Ecumenical Patriarchate) is the Orthodox Co-Chair. Together they said, ‘In this statement we call on all people, in the light of our agreement, to be filled with wonder and gratitude to God for the gift of creation, and to exercise true restraint in our use of the power that God gives to humanity, so that we may properly and reverently safeguard God’s creation.’

Stewards of Creation is available on Amazon in Europe, North America and Japan, and may also be downloaded from the Anglican Communion website at www.anglicancommunion.org