Ecology is the scientific study of the distribution of living organisms and how their distribution and abundance are affected by the interactions that the organisms have with their environment. They are usually viewed as two different sides of the issue of organism environment interaction with evolution studying the interaction from the perspective of the organism over time and ecology examining this same interaction but from the perspective of the environment over time. One modern Orthodox scholar who dealt extensively with the topic of evolution, nature and theology is Fr Sergius Bulgakov. Bulgakov is one of the few Orthodox theologians who have attempted to address questions of the interaction of God and the world, taking into consideration modern scientific thinking about evolution. Evolution and ecology are tightly linked, and separation of the two only leads to an inadequate understanding of nature and an inappropriate orientation toward the environment.