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Christian Environmentalist Dr. W.C. Tan To Speak in Ottawa May 6 & 7

Are Christian values compatible with environmental values?

In the face of desertification, climate change and species extinction, what does the life of the spirit have to offer?

What connects Chinese culture to the world of Orthodox Christianity?

Biochemist, organic farming expert, former Anglican priest and classical Chinese scholar Wee-Chong Tan will tackle these and other questions in free public lectures on Sunday May 6 and Monday May 7, 2007.

Speaking on "The Theology of Ecology" and "Orthodox Christianity and Chinese Culture", Dr. Tan draws on a remarkable lifetime of scholarly, scientific and spiritual accomplishment. With an unforgettable combination of vast knowledge and deep wisdom, he will share with his Ottawa audiences the fruits of decades of hands-on research in North America, Asia and Europe.

The lectures will be held at Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral, 15 LeBreton Street North, Ottawa, starting each evening at 7:30 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Background on W.C. Tan, PhD

Born in China, Wee-Chong Tan received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Indiana University. After studies in theology he was ordained a priest in the Church of England in St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

In 1973, Dr. Tan came to Canada to join the founding faculty of Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific (United World Colleges) near Victoria. In 1985, he took early retirement from Pearson College to found the Canadian College for Chinese Studies.

In 1997, a visit to the College by an agricultural delegation from China sparked a great interest in organic agriculture, which has moved Dr. Tan to undertake research trips to the Hutterite farmers of Saskatchewan; the Amish in Pennsylvania; the peasants of China; the farmlands of Russia from St. Petersburg to Manchuria; and to organic farmers and agricultural researchers in eighteen countries of Europe. He formed the Canada - China Organic Agriculture Centre within the College to promote organic farming methods around the world.

In 2000, Dr. Tan travelled to China to become a visiting professor at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary. He received many further invitations along the way; before returning home after nine months in China, he had become a guest professor in Philosophy and Life Fellow at the China Cultural Academy, Beijing University, and a Fellow and Professor at China Agricultural University in Beijing, and had spoken at fifty universities, including eighteen Protestant and Catholic seminaries, in twenty seven of the thirty provinces of China.

On November 21, 2006, Dr. Tan was named an Honorary Citizen of the City of Victoria by Mayor Alan Lowe.

Dr. Tan is an Orthodox Christian and a parishioner of All Saints of Alaska Orthodox Church in Victoria, BC.