The Question (and Statement):
➢ Considering there are progressive Orthodox Christians that exist and support same-sex marriage and transitioning, how can you say that Orthodoxy holds to this position?
➣ Not all Orthodox hold the position that it is sin.
The Answer:
I am aware of these types of people. I also am aware of orthodoxandgay.com and related groups that profess to be Orthodox. I know of Protestant evangelical churches which are very accepting and supportive of these acts, just as I know of some that did a George Floyd communion.
Considering these positions, especially in reflection of the Orthodox tradition continuing over centuries, I do not believe these are informed and appropriate. None of the Church Fathers has ever been supportive of the misuse of matrimony and had prescribed very grievous penalties we do not currently have for wrongful considerations and marital practices.
Even Patriarch Bartholomew who is often championed as a more progressive patriarch condemned such unions. On September 7, 2013, at the Holy Cathedral of St. Symeon in Tallinn, Estonia of which he was presiding over that day, he remarked in his homily: "To our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed families through the Mystery of Marriage at Cana of Galilee and changed water into wine, that is, into joy and feasting, and to His Body, the Orthodox Church, the partnering of the same sex is unknown and condemned, and they condemn the contemporary invention of 'mutual cohabitation', which is the result of sin and not the law of joy."
He continued, providing reason: "The Church, my beloved parents and children, and subsequently the family, which consists lawfully and by the command of God of men and women, and the children acquired, is not a foundation or association or a simple organization, but a Body, as it is wonderfully depicted by the Apostle Paul. And this parallelism is accurate and true. Church and marriage. Husband and wife. Body and its members. This community, signified in the Mysteries and in the obedience of Faith, both in the Church and in the family, is sanctified and mystagogued through the Mystery of Marriage, which, according to the Fathers, is a mystery of co-creation, and the ontological link of love with the Head of the Body, to ensure health and life, which is salvation and sanctification." (Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Addresses the Issue of Homosexual Marriage, translated by John Sandopolous)
People professing to be Christians when they aren't and Christians out of ignorance supporting unions are not of any degree impactful on standard, enforced, and upheld doctrines of the Church itself. They are in error and advocate for concepts in opposition to God. It is like looking at the LGBT+ community, looking for the position of some homosexual persons who are against transgenderism, and then saying the mind of the community reflects this. It is not so.
The Church is not built on the erroneous positions of some nor is it built upon churches that do not belong to her either. When discussing the positions of the Orthodox Church, the Church itself in her history, practice, and theology, must be referenced; the Sacred Scriptures and Tradition must be pointed to.
With this said, pointing to Protestantism and Roman Catholicism is not a reflection of Orthodoxy.
YOU ARE READING
LGBT+ and the Church
SpiritualThis book will be addressing the LGBT+ issues and the Church. The primary chapters will discuss God's design, the sin and reasoning, and more, and will eventually begin going into a question series. In the question segment, it will address questions...
