The whole creation was altered by thy Passion: for all things suffered with Thee, knowing, O Word, that Thou holdest all in unity.
This is a remarkable statement, but it does not stand alone. The ‘Praises’ return frequently to the theme of this all-inclusive co-suffering:
Though Thou wast shut within the narrowest of sepulchres, O Jesus, all creation knew Thee as true King of heaven and earth.
The whole earth quaked with fear, O Word, and the daystar hid its rays, when thy great Light was hidden in the earth.
Of old the lamb was sacrificed in secret; but Thou, longsuffering Saviour, wast sacrificed beneath the open sky and hast cleansed the whole creation.
O hills and valleys, the multitude of humankind, and all creation, weep and lament with me.
The sun and moon grew dark together, O Saviour, like faithful servants, clothed in black robes of mourning.
Come, and with the whole creation let us offer a funeral hymn to the Creator.
The whole earth mourns with us humans for the dead Christ laid in the tomb; and to an equal degree the whole earth is raised to new life, along with us humans, through the Saviour’s resurrection from the dead. Paschal salvation extends beyond the human realm to the world of nature, involving animals, trees, hills and valleys, sun and moon, and the totality of the material creation.
Faithful to this all-inclusive understanding of Christ’s redemptive work, the Starets believes that our personal salvation is integrally connected with the salvation of the whole world. The precept ‘Love all’ means that we are to love the entire creation: humans first, but also animals, plants, and each and every part of nature.
Ours is to be a ‘love without limits’, to borrow the title of one of Fr Lev Gillet’s books. We are to feel ‘compassion for the whole universe and every living creature… a love for every one of God’s creatures’, says St Silouan. ‘Weep for all’ means that ‘you will shed abundant tears for your fellow-man and for every thing that hath breath, and all creation’.
‘When the soul learns love of the Lord, she is filled with compassion for the whole universe; and when she mourns for the withdrawal of God’s grace she calls on all creation to lament with her:
Weep with me, forest and desert. Weep with me, every creature created by God, and comfort me in my grief and sorrow.
~Adapted from Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia, We Must Pray for All: The Salvation of the World According to St Silouan (http://www.bogoslov.ru/en/text/2314168.html).
