Honored Elders

Thomas Berry

Responding to the invitation to be on Earth Elders’ Council of Honored Elders, Thomas Berry says: “It is a high honor indeed! The role of assisting the human community toward a more appropriate relationship with the planet is truly a challenging role...I am willing to do anything I can that would be of assistance.”

Thomas Berry was born and raised in the Piedmont area of the Southern Appalachians in the early 20th century. He spent ten years in a monastery where the religious liturgy was intimately associated with the cosmic mystery of dawn, sunset and the sequence of the seasons. After attaining his doctorate in history, he taught in China and at Fordham University studying both Hindu and Buddhist literature.

He founded the Riverside Center for Religious Research in New York. There he focused on the consequences of the industrial revolution on the life systems of the Earth and on the religious and cultural life of the human community. In 1988 he published The Dream of the Earth which has been hailed as one of the most important works in awakening peoples around the world to what was happening to the planet. Later, with eco-physicist Brian Swimme he wrote The Universe Story to provide a comprehensive understanding of the discoveries of modern science and the mystery of creation and the unfolding of the universe.

His recent masterpiece is The Great Work: Our Way into the Future. His conviction is that all possible human effort must now be turned toward establishing a viable mode of human presence on the planet Earth. This constitutes the Great Work that is before us.

Thomas Berry lives on a farm in North Carolina where he continues to write and study. Thomas Berry, we consider it a great honor to have your blessings for Earth Elders.