Carbon lent gains momentum as more churches join in

Orthodox Church launches 50-day lent focusing on environmental conservation, waste minimisation, and energy conservation through faith-based action plan.

Standing solemnly, Joseph Mar Dionysius, chairperson of the Ecological Commission under the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, held a clay pot brimming with water. With church officials and the laity gathered around, he paused briefly before pouring the water into a set of clay ceramic jars held by a group of children.

“Excessive consumption of water is a sin and water is a precious resource that should be used without waste,” declared the Metropolitan.

The brief ceremony, held on February 2 at the centuries-old St. Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church in West Kallada, Kollam, marked the formal commencement of a 50-day-long lent observed by the Church’s followers. In the Christian tradition, lent is the time before Easter in which Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God.  Launched under the direction of the Church’s episcopal synod, the seven-week initiative is guided by seven key themes of frugality including waste minimisation, ecological restoration, energy conservation and environment-friendly road transport.

With this initiative, the Orthodox Church joins a growing chorus of Christian communities addressing climate change through faith-based action plan. The Church of South India has observed carbon fasting since 2017, while the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church adopted the practice a year earlier.

According to them, the green lent or carbon fast or eco lent encourages practical energy-saving measures, promotes awareness of individual carbon footprints, and dedicates each week of the lent to a specific theme.

For instance, the Mar Thoma Church has introduced a fasting calendar for this year’s lent, integrating spirituality with responsible living. The document designates the first week of lent as “Life and Water,” followed by successive weeks focussing on “Life and Health,” “Life and Sabbath,” “Life and Food,” “Life and Disaster,” “Life and Optics,” and “Life and Death.”

Commenting on the movement, Mathew Koshy Punnacadu, commissioner for Climate Justice and Sustainable Development under the World Council of Churches, highlighted the spiritual responsibility of churches in environmental conservation.