Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology by Christina Nellist

Abstract

Reviewed by: Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology by Christina Nellist Brother Christopher Christina Nellist. Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018. 414 pp. The common perception of Orthodox Christianity is that it is primarily concerned with humanity’s relationship with God and how that expresses itself in the individual lives of believers. Most Christians recognize that Orthodoxy offers a rich tradition, especially in the realm of spirituality—prayer and liturgy most particularly, and how they help humanity reach the spiritual purpose for which we were created. Orthodoxy is very strong in articulating a vision of faith rooted in its passage down through the ages: the writings of the Church fathers and how they relate to deepening our relationship with God. However, less visible is Orthodoxy’s response to contemporary social and moral issues. Notwithstanding the important work of Patriarch Bartholomew regarding the environment, most Christians do not associate Orthodoxy as a whole with cutting-edge thinking on the spiritual and moral crises facing humanity today: global poverty, human rights, global warming, and working for peace between nations, for example. It is refreshing whenever contemporary Orthodox theologians make serious contributions in these areas, because it starts to change the perception that Orthodoxy is all about spirit. Christina Nellist is an Orthodox theologian who has written an ambitious study on the topic of animal suffering and its relationship to our moral life. She deals with what a proper response from Eastern Orthodox Christianity should be on this important topic. Her belief is that a proper understanding of how Orthodox tradition approaches creation will invariably lead to a broader respect for all of God’s creatures and create the conditions necessary to lessen animal suffering, which, as she asserts, is undeniably widespread. Her hope is [End Page 108] to raise consciousness primarily within Orthodoxy by helping us understand how the suffering of animals impacts our moral life. In the course of her study she argues persuasively that animals are sentient beings, each with a proper “animal soul,” and while their level of “thinking” and “mental processing” will vary according to the species, we cannot pretend that animals do not suffer from inhumane treatment. They do, and to help readers understand the seriousness of the issue, in the first chapter she presents graphic images of the abuse and mistreatment of animals in a variety of contexts. To defend such abuse on the pretext that animals are soulless or don’t feel the suffering imposed on them in such circumstances is disingenuous and very difficult to justify in the face of current ethological and behavioral studies on animals. For myself, living as I do with a large number of German Shepherds and working with dogs of all breeds each day, the reduction of dogs to soulless creatures that are solely for human use and pleasure borders on the preposterous. From an evolutionary point of view, dogs have prospered, in part, by choosing to associate with human beings as much as we have chosen to associate with and breed them. They possess unique personalities in which the canine “principle of life” is clearly on display. Granted, dogs are only one species, but they demonstrate that animal consciousness cannot be summarily dismissed as absurd. That said, regardless whether one views animals as having souls or not, as living creatures they deserve to be treated with respect and reverence. Nellist makes that point convincingly. To present her position that an Eastern Orthodox environmental ethic is consistent with scriptural and patristic teaching that includes the treatment of animals, she surveys the evidence from the Hebrew scriptures, the New Testament, and the witness of the saints. For example, she cites any number of saints who manifested a deep love for animals (e.g., Sts. Gerasimos, Modestos, Macarius, Mamas, and Seraphim of Sarov). At many points in her study she brings in the views of His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew to reinforce her position. While the Patriarch writes more directly about the environment and our abuse of it, Nellist believes this implicitly includes animals as well. Part of her aim in this study is to...