The Church of South India recognizes that God’s mission has various dimensions. The constitution of CSI clearly specifies the mission of the Church:
1) Proclamation of Gospel
2) Nurturing the people of God
3) Service
4) Establish justice in society
5) Stewardship of creation.
Perhaps, this is the only Church in India that has specifically mentioned the ecological concerns in the constitution itself. Also we have a committee at the synod level for ecological concerns. In the constitution it is written as “The Church seeks to create awareness among all people about environmental and ecological concerns and thereby to care for God’s creation. It endeavors to encourage people to refrain from excessive exploitation of nature’s resources and to strive to keep the earth a habitable place for the present as well as future generations.”
Degrading the environment is not just an environmental issue. It is a moral imperative of our faith. The degradation of the natural world is equivalent to a spiritual crisis and causes a sense of imbalance for the globe’s billions of people. As Christians, we have to ensure an honest living and a dignified preservation of all elements, and everything living on the face of the earth, including its animals and plants, and non-living objects. The gifts of creation are not meant to be bought and sold or exploited for profit and personal gain, not for our greed, but to meet our needs.
An Ecological Committee has been functioning at the Synod level from 1992 onwards. At the Diocesan level an ecological committee has been functioning since 1998. We started an Ecological department in 2012. The Ecological department of the diocese is organizing various programmes and projects. This website will help you to understand our various projects and activities.
Rt Rev Dr Malayil Sabu Koshy Cherian
Bishop of CSI Madhya Kerala Diocese, Kottayam, Kerala