From Word to World: A Liturgical Lens on Genesis and Modern Cosmology

Introduction

In the Orthodox tradition, the opening chapter of Genesis has long been read in a richly liturgical and doxological key. More than a historical account, Genesis 1 points to a deeper reality: Creation itself functions as a “cosmic temple” in which humanity is called to offer right worship to God. This perspective is woven throughout the patristic tradition and finds profound expression in the Church’s liturgical life. St. Basil the Great and St. Maximus the Confessor, affirms creation as a cosmic liturgy in which humanity is called to participate as priest and mediator. The Church’s liturgical structure, particularly the Divine Liturgy, is thus the means by which the order of creation finds its fulfillment in the eschatological reality of Christ. Thus, one could discern that the creation narrative in Genesis 1 embodies the very spirit of Orthopraxis.

However, some contemporary Orthodox authors engage this question in varying ways. Doru Costache’s work, The Orthodox Doctrine of Creation in the Age of Science, presents an argument for integrating Orthodox cosmology with contemporary scientific paradigms. While his effort to bridge faith and modern cosmology is commendable, his critique of creationism as reductionist overlooks fundamental epistemological distinctions between Orthodox theological presuppositions and those underlying modern scientific discourse.

Creation as a Cosmic Temple

St. Basil the Great, in his famous Homilies on the Hexaemeron, articulates a vision of creation that underscores its inherent order and sacramental potential. He emphasizes the “harmonious symphony” of the universe, noting that God’s creative word confers both existence and purpose on all creatures.[1] This sense of divine order—light emerging from darkness, the waters gathered, and creatures formed “according to their nature”—signifies a liturgical structure.[2] As day-by-day God proclaims creation “good,” we perceive a recurring doxology that anticipates the Church’s continual glorification of God in her liturgical services.

Icon of Saint Maximus The Confessor (Courtesy of OCA.org)

Such a vision resonates with The Ecclesiastical Mystagogy by St. Maximus the Confessor, in which he draws parallels between the structure of the physical church building and the structure of the cosmos.[3] For St. Maximus, the church edifice is not merely a meeting place but an icon of the entire world—heaven and earth united. Thus, when we enter into the sanctuary, we do not step into a separate realm so much as we enter more deeply into the reality of the world as God intended it: a “cosmic liturgy” united in praise.

Humanity as Priestly Mediator & Creation as Liturgy

Alongside the notion of a cosmic temple stands humanity’s priestly vocation in the created order. Genesis 1:26–28 confers upon humanity a dominion that, in Orthodox theology, is priestly rather than exploitative. Saint Maximus the Confessor affirms that man, composed of both material and spiritual realities, is uniquely positioned to mediate sensible (material) things and intelligible (spiritual) things, and thus fulfilling the vocation of offering creation back to God in thanksgiving.[4]

This theology finds its most explicit expression in the Eucharist, wherein material elements—bread and wine—are received, transfigured, and returned to God. In other words, the Church’s liturgical services as an unfolding mystery that reflects both the history of salvation and the cosmos’ journey toward deification in Christ.[5] In the liturgy, material elements such as bread, wine and water are lifted up, consecrated, and become vehicles of divine grace. This mirrors Adam’s primal task in the Garden of Eden: to “tend” creation and elevate it in gratitude to the Creator.

Mosaic of Icon of Creation

Moreover, the account of Creation in Genesis introduces sacred time. The six days of creation, followed by the sanctification of the seventh day, constitute the foundation of liturgical time, a concept deeply embedded in Orthodox worship. The Church’s liturgical cycle reflects the Genesis structure, culminating in the eschatological reality of the eighth day, which signifies the fulfillment of time in Christ’s Resurrection.[6]

The Hymn of Creation: Genesis in Dialogue with Scientific Revelation

Doru Costache’s work, The Orthodox Doctrine of Creation in the Age of Science, presents an argument for integrating Orthodox cosmology with contemporary scientific paradigm. Costache critiques creationism for its alleged reductionism, suggesting that it arbitrarily rejects contemporary scientific paradigms while upholding an antiquated cosmology.[7] However, his position implicitly privileges scientific naturalism as a neutral epistemic foundation, rather than recognizing its own inherent presuppositions.

As discussed before, the Orthodox paradigm of creation is fundamentally sacramental and liturgical. The scientific worldview, in contrast, operates on methodological naturalism, assuming that reality is materially self-sufficient and can be understood independently of divine agency. Costache’s approach seeks a synthesis between Orthodox theology and a cosmology predicated on naturalistic assumptions. This inadvertently undermines the patristic insistence on cosmic liturgy as the true framework of reality.

Furthermore, The Orthodox tradition maintains that knowledge is ascetical and participatory, acquired through purification of the nous and communion with God.[8] In contrast, modern science operates through empirical rationalism, which excludes divine revelation as a legitimate source of knowledge. By critiquing creationists for their rejection of contemporary cosmology, Costache assumes that empirical knowledge and theological knowledge are epistemically equivalent, which is a category error. Orthodox theology does not seek empirical verification but theoria, a vision of divine reality.

Moreover, Orthodox cosmology is eschatologically oriented, understanding the universe as moving toward Christ recapitulating all things in Himself.[9] Scientific cosmology, however, operates on a framework of non-teleological evolution, positing random processes without inherent purpose. Costache’s attempt to reconcile Orthodox theology with evolutionary cosmology fails to address this foundational contradiction: Orthodox theology presupposes an ultimate telos, whereas modern science operates on a paradigm of contingency and purposelessness.

Conclusion

The Orthodox account of Creation found in Genesis 1, when read through the lens of Orthodox liturgical theology, reveals creation as a cosmic temple wherein humanity fulfills its priestly vocation. The Church’s liturgical praxis does not merely commemorate creation; it participates in its ongoing sanctification. However, Costache’s critique of creationism as reductionist oversimplifies the epistemological distinctions between Orthodox theology and contemporary science. The Orthodox tradition does not derive its cosmology from empirical observation alone but from divine revelation, liturgical experience, and the ascetical life. Thus, the true framework for understanding Genesis 1 is not found in modern cosmology but in the worship of the Church, wherein creation is continuously lifted up in the cosmic liturgy, culminating in its eschatological fulfillment in Christ.

-GP

References

[1]Basil the Great, On the Hexaemeron, Homily 1.7, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 8, edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, Fourth printing, 2004), 56.

[2] Ibid., 56

[3] Maximus the Confessor, The Ecclesiastical Mystagogy, trans. Jonathan J. Armstrong (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2019), 55-57.

[4] Ibid., 70

[5] Vladmir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1976), 109.

[6] Basil the Great, On the Hexaemeron, Homily 2.8, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, vol. 8, edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, Fourth printing, 2004), 64-65.

[7] Doru Costache, The Orthodox Doctrine of Creation in the Age of Science, Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2019), 43-64.

[8] Maximus the Confessor, The Ecclesiastical Mystagogy, trans. Jonathan J. Armstrong (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2019), 59-68.

[9] Maximus the Confessor, Ambiguum 7, On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ, trans. Paul M. Blowers and Robert Louis Wilken (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2003), 55.