:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 ::

Taking a Stand

The following quote can be found in the July 31st post of this blogger. The last sentence grabbed my attention.

"Vice is justifying your sins, and, as a result, continuing to commit them.... But the secular world, swept along by the 'winds of progress'(and we all know the diabolic source of these) is now conducting a campaign to legitimize the vice of sodomy. Where is the outcry? Where would one expect it to come from? Not the protestant sects (the pathetic, inconsistent statements of the 'church' of England show how far the protester's religion(s) have strayed from God's will). Nor from the Orthodox 'church(es)'."

Apparently the author has not read the recent statement from SCOBA (The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America). A very short, yet concise piece of pastoral direction, ISTM. The money quotes:

"The Orthodox Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality, firmly grounded in Holy Scripture, 2000 years of church tradition, and canon law, holds that marriage consists in the conjugal union of a man and a woman, and that authentic marriage is blessed by God as a sacrament of the Church. Neither Scripture nor Holy Tradition blesses or sanctions such a union between persons of the same sex....."

"The Orthodox Church cannot and will not bless same-sex unions. Whereas marriage between a man and a woman is a sacred institution ordained by God, homosexual union is not. Like adultery and fornication, homosexual acts are condemned by Scripture (Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Timothy 1:10). This being said, however, we must stress that persons with a homosexual orientation are to be cared for with the same mercy and love that is bestowed by our Lord Jesus Christ upon all of humanity. All persons are called by God to grow spiritually and morally toward holiness."

I don't know if this counts as an "outcry" but it certainly reaffirms the Orthodox Church's 2000 year-old position on the matter.

Update: In this post, Huw links to another excellent pastoral message. I am glad to see this well-timed letter on the culture crisis and related issues by His Beatitude, Metropolitan HERMAN.

:: Karl :: 2:28:00 PM [Link] ::