The Orthodox Church in Damascus Celebrates the Season of Creation 2022
H.G. Bishop Mousa Al-Khasi: the circumstances we are witnessing shouldn’t be a cause for despair, but an opportunity for us to be responsible towards God by protecting His world
On the occasion of the “Season of Creation” 2022, the Orthodox Church celebrated the Season in a Holy Mass, held at the Holy Cross Church in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday 18 September 2022. It is part of the series of celebrations organized by the Middle East Council of Churches, in partnership with “Danmission” organization, in various countries of the region.
The Holy Mass was presided over by the Auxiliary Bishop to His Beatitude His Grace, the Right Reverend Bishop Mousa Al-Khasi, with the participation of Archimandrite Ibrahim Daoud, Father George Baalbaki and Father Gabi Kahil. Believers have also participated in the Divine Liturgy.
H.G. Bishop Mousa Al-Khasi delivered a Homily, in which he said, “the Church is celebrating today the Season of Creation, which was launched by the Middle East Council of Churches in the region. This Season reminds us of the importance of the care for creation in which human lives. Thus, human shouldn’t put creation at risk but glorify God through it. People should set their priorities and remember the reason of their existence in this world: living with God.”
He added, "God created Man and placed him in the world to work for its preservation. Therefore, the task of Man is to manage and protect the world, as God chose Human to be His steward by preserving the creature. So Man forms an ongoing relationship with God and seeks Him through the use of the world and its components. However, Man chose independence from God and didn’t fulfill the responsibility towards creation. Hence, Man couldn’t be the preserver of the world.”
He continued, “The Cross of Christ saves Man, and through the Cross Man must protect the world and present it to Christ as thankfulness and gratitude. So Man is sanctified and in turn sanctifies the world. In fact, the Saints lived through this path. For example, when Saint Silouan the Athonite broke a tree branch, he cried bitterly and said: You have committed a Sin. Saint Silouan means that love is broke up by exploiting material. Therefore, the Cross helps us to restore love, so we don’t exploit materials, but offer it to God as sacrifice and thankfulness.
His Grace emphasized that "the circumstances we are witnessing shouldn’t be a cause for despair, but an opportunity for us to be responsible towards God through protecting His world in which we live, and taking care of His creation. In our life priorities, we should sanctify the world, as well as ourselves... These difficult circumstances are an opportunity to set again our priorities correctly, since the priority of Man is the relationship with God, and everything else in the world must be offered to Him as a sacrifice.”
It is worth mentioning, that the Middle East Council of Churches launched the "Season of Creation" for the first time in the region last year. Its international celebrations start on 1 September and end on 4 October of each year.
