CONSTRUCTING AN ECO LITURGICAL MODEL OF BAPTISM THAT ENCOURAGES ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

The Orthodox Anglican tradition does not denigrate the material world as mundane entity. Her liturgical tradition provides ample evidences of her affirmation of the integrity of creation and thus material elements from the oikos, are offered sacramentally to God in worship. Through her adaptability to sacramental liturgy and practices, the Anglican Church encourages a new ethics for the “earth community”- the ethics of restraint of egoistic consumerism, behavioral change and awareness of personal responsibility towards environmental sustainability which will ultimately culminate in the "salvation of the whole oikos. The paper is a creative attempt that discusses the ecological values inherent in constructing an “eco-liturgical” model for baptism capable of not only inculcating the ethics of personal environmental responsibility but also filling the gap by dousing the tension between economy and ecology in a way that fosters economic and environmental sustainability where hitherto, they were seen as opposing each other. The methodology adopted for the study is a descriptive and constructive analytical approach focusing on understanding the relationship of the church with the material world as well as the relationship of the individual Christian with the “earth community” which the church belongs to and which the individual is initiated into through the sacrament of baptism.