The Gospel of Trees with Dr. Thomas Arentzen

In this conversation, Victoria Loorz speaks with Dr. Thomas Arentzen, a Norwegian author and docent in Church History at Lund University, whose work uncovers a forgotten Christian tradition where trees, birds, and the more-than-human world were understood not as the backdrop to human salvation, but as active participants in the sacred life of creation. Thomas specializes in ecological perspectives in (and on) the Christian world, and is the author of the newly released The Gospel of Trees.Together, they explore the mysterious dendrites, early Christian monks who lived in trees, along with saints praying alongside cypresses, birds singing hymns to God, and ancient visions of all creation joined in a cosmic liturgy. Recovering our kinship with the living world, Thomas shares, is not something new but a return to Christianity's own roots. Faith becomes not something practiced apart from creation, but a way of belonging within a community of life where all beings share in the praise of God.Connect with Thomas:Website: sanktignatios.org/dr-thomas-arentzenBook: The Gospel of Trees by Thomas ArentzenBook: Byzantine Tree Life: Christianity and the Arboreal Imagination by Thomas Arentzen, Virginia Burrus & Glenn Peers Mentioned in the episode:Film: Silent FriendBook: The Overstory by Richard PowersFilm: Disclosure DayIndividual: Margaret WheatleyOrganization: Mystical Theology NetworkOrganization: Dumbarton Oaks GardenBook: Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne SimardBook: The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter WohllebenWiki: Saint Christina the AstonishingBook: Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods by Julia "Butterfly" HillMark 8:22-25 Jesus Heals a Blind Man at BethsaidaConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: [email protected]: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:00:00 - Introduction05:28 - Interview Begins08:05 - The Pull To Place10:27 - Christianity's Relationship with Trees15:05 - Synchronicity of Emerging Fields17:16 - The Dendrites23:26 - Is Religion Only A Human Enterprise?27:27 - The Worldview of Kin and Neighbor36:47 - Countering Many Fundamentalisms39:20 - Shifting Attention44:08 - Drawn Next to the Birds46:15 - Wild Invitation49:23 - Credits