Brief Statement on the Relationship Between Orthodoxy and Science

Below is an excerpt from a statement by the Office of Heresies and Parareligions of the Holy Metropolis of Piraeus, that concludes by describing the Orthodox view of science and the correct interpretation of Genesis 1.

True science is a gift of God to man, according to the divinely inspired words of Scripture: "God gave science to human beings, so that we would praise Him for the miracles He performs" (Wisdom of Sirach 38:6). In science is contemplated and studied the amazing harmony, purpose and order of the material universe, and not only does it not distance us from faith, but instead leads every unbiased person in the glorification of God, according to the words of the prophet: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1). Unfortunately, those captivated by an atheistic worldview and perception do not understand that the divinely inspired book of Genesis is not a scientific, but a theological treatise.

Fr. John Romanides on the Creation of the World and Man (2 of 6)

...continued from part one.

E) Recording the Experience of Revelation

- "Revelational experience is formulated in created words and concepts. The God-seeing Prophets, Apostles and Fathers use the perceptions of the people of their era in order to put their experience into words. Their basic teaching is that God created the world and He directs it, but the formulation of the experience in words comes from the knowledge of the period. The teaching is a matter of theology, the wording is a matter of communication. The cosmology of the Old Testament, as regards expression and formulation, is influenced by the Babylonian cosmology of that age. We stress this to avoid any confusion between the theology of the God-seeing saints and the scientific language of each era." (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)