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Russian Orthodox Church backs Vatican on gay seminarians

http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=41169

Moscow, Dec. 09, 2005 (CWNews.com) - The Russian Orthodox Church has issued a statement of support for the Vatican's Instruction barring the admission of homosexual men to seminaries.

Father Igor Vyzhanov, a spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate, told the Interfax news agency that while the Russian Orthodox Church differs with Catholicism insofar as married men may be ordained in the Eastern Church, the world's two largest Christian bodies "have a common approach to the problem of homosexuality."

The Bible, Father Vyzhanov observed, condemns homosexual acts in terms that "do not leave any room for a different interpretation." He said that Orthodox believers have trouble comprehending Protestant groups that have given their blessing to same-sex unions.

The Orthodox Church spokesman said that exclusion of homosexuals from seminaries and from the priesthood should be a common policy, since homosexuality can never be accepted as normal, and those who have same-sex attraction must be understood to "suffer from a serious illness."

Alexandr

Homosexuality and the Church
By His Holiness Pope Shenouda of the Coptic Orthodox Church
Source: The Coptic Digest August 3rd, 2003

Alexandr


http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/html/currentissues/homosexuality.cfm

I am very glad to have the opportunity to speak to the pastors of the Church of England, I mean, to speak to the angels of the Church and to the ministers of our Lord; those who were mentioned in the Book of Revelation as stars in the right hand of our Lord; I thank God because He has given me a chance to speak to those to whom the Lord said, 'You will be witnesses to Me.'; 'Witnesses to Me' means witnesses to the truth, to the Holy Bible, to the commandments of God, to what the Holy Spirit has said to the churches; I want to speak to you about many things, and hope that should you desire to discuss any point, we will have time to do so.

The first matter is the holiness of the Church; In the Holy Creed we say, 'We believe in One, Holy Church.'; This Holy Church is Apostolic and Katholik. In the apostolic age, all believers were called saints. A believer in the language of the Bible means a saint, because we are sanctified with faith, sanctified in baptism, sanctified in the holy Chrism, sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We are not merely human beings, we are temples of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is abiding in us as it is written in the first epistle to the Corinthians, chapters three and six. As temples of the Holy Spirit, we should have communion with the Holy Spirit. The work of any believer is not only the work of a human individual, but is actually the work of the Holy Spirit."

We are also the image of God and we carry the image of God to the world. They see in our conduct, in our behavior, the proof that we are the real children of God. If we read the beginning of some of the epistles of St. Paul to the Romans for example, he writes, 'Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.' The Apostle is writing to the saints of Rome, and in another epistle he writes, 'To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.' Again he also says in his second epistle, 'To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia.' When he writes to Ephesus, he sends his greetings to all the saints in Ephesus. To the Philippians he says the same, and when he writes to the Hebrews in chapter three he writes to those who are called to the 'Divine call who are saints also.' If we are supposed to be saints, how must we behave as saints, charged as we are with carrying the holy iconic image of our Lord to the world?

In the Apostolic age, not everyone was allowed to enter the church; only those who were worthy to attend the holy Eucharist and partake of the Blood and Body of our Lord Jesus Christ. This holy life is what we are called to, because we are the children of a holy Father. St. Peter speaks about this point and says, 'as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy.' Holy persons do not live in the lust of the flesh, but they walk according to the Spirit. Holy persons have two characteristics. The first is that his flesh is guided by the spirit, by his human spirit. The second characteristic is that his spirit, his human spirit is guided by the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God then is guiding the whole person, guiding the spirit and the body, and that person should be holy both in body and in spirit. Let me remind you of some verses from the eight chapter of the epistle to the Romans about the body and the spirit. The holy Apostle says, 'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.' And again, 'For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.' Then he says, 'if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.' 'Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.' St. Paul mentions here that the sons of God are those persons who are led by the Spirit of God

I am sorry to have to speak about an issue that has become a topic of popular discussion in the church of late. This subject is homosexuality, and it ought not to be a matter of discussion.

First of all, homosexuality is against nature. Sexual expression is permitted only within marriage, between man and woman, male and female. Anything else is an abnormality and is against nature. When our Lord Jesus Christ discussed this matter with the scribes and Pharisees in St. Matthew chapter nineteen and St. Mark chapter ten, He said 'From the beginning, God made them male and female,' man and woman. This is the will of our God from the beginning of creation. When people walked according to the lust of the flesh in the Old Testament, they received severe punishment from God. At the time of the Flood, only the pure, only eight persons in the Ark of Noah were saved. All the people who were not clean, who walked according to the flesh, perished. Also, the people of Sodom, who were not clean, were burned with fire. They walked according to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the body; they were not clean in their spirit

Carnal persons cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. They cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We read this in the book of Revelation chapter twenty-one. It speaks about the heavenly Jerusalem saying, 'But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination.' Those who defile themselves with abominable acts cannot enter the city of God. In the Old Testament homosexuality is described as an abomination worthy of the punishment of death. For example, Leviticus chapter eighteen, verse twenty-two reads, 'You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.' In chapter twenty, verse thirteen, 'If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them'

Of course, the New Testament is not less pure than the Old Testament, and we find a proscription of homosexual acts there as well. In Romans chapter one it is written, 'For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.' How? Verse twenty-four teaches, 'Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.' 'Gave them up' means that the grace of God left them, abandoned them and left them to their uncleanness to dishonor their bodies. In such abnormality, they dishonor their bodies. The honor of the body is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. But if it is abused then it is a dishonor to the body. 'For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Like wise also the men, leaving the natural use of woman, burned in their lust for one another, man with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due'

St. Paul spoke about the debased mind of the homosexual using the phrase 'exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.' We take this to clearly mean that homosexuality is clearly against nature. This he avers is uncleanness and dishonor of the body, also receiving penalty. Again, 'Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use' means that this is abnormal and against nature, 'committing what is shameful.' What I would like to ask is how such a matter which is so shameful and against nature have become such an important matter of discussion in the Church? If there were an attempt to make such acts lawful, it would be a disaster. If we change something shameful and worthy of penalty, something clearly against nature, to a thing accepted and lawful, we deserve the punishment of God both on earth and in the world to come

In the first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter six, the Apostle says, 'Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, will inherit the kingdom of God.' None of these will inherit the kingdom of God. How is it then that some employ unimaginable devices in an attempt to circumvent a Biblical text so clearly written? Have we come so far as to challenge the Apostle of God who writes, 'do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?' Your body is not your own; your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The homosexual is sinning against the temple of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul writes, 'Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.' When a person sins against the Holy Spirit; that means he is separating himself from the Holy Spirit. Light and darkness cannot exist together in one place. From the beginning God separated light from darkness. The Holy Spirit cannot abide in such a case.'

The apostle exhorts, 'glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's,' because the body is for God and the spirit is for God. In chapter three of his epistle to first Corinthians he adds, 'Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.' Further along in chapter six St. Paul writes, 'Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!' These are the members of Christ because we are His body and His bones. 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.' If Christ then lives in me, how can we abuse the body or the members of Christ or the temple of the Holy Spirit? How can we abuse or dishonor the image of God and lose our holy image and live in the lust of the flesh? This is against a holy life and against chastity

In his epistle, St. Jude writes, 'as Sodom and Gomarrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.' And in his first epistle to St. Timothy, St. Paul reminds, 'knowing this: that the law is not make for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites.' St. Paul includes this word 'sodomites' or homosexuals among the murderers, among the lawless, among the ungodly. This sin then was condemned in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. So can we disobey God in order to please some sinful persons? Is it not better to correct them.

In our present day I believe that our Lord has given all of us something quite remarkable to consider. AIDS has come to many that persist in a lifestyle that places them in both temporal and eternal risk. Death, as a predictable consequence of infection, usually comes slowly. It is possible that those who have been infected may reflect upon what God has willed for them, rather than what they have willed for themselves. I do not mean the disease itself, but rather the holy life to which they have been called. Unfortunately, many do not even fear such a warning, even though they suffer a defilement of the body.

What may be said of Christianity in its supreme ideology? Christianity teaches the sublime ideas of spirituality. How can other religions have any idea about this spiritual life if they know that there is homosexuality in the Church and that the Church is discussing whether it is wrong or right? The life of the Church should be a life of holiness. A holy person is a member of the Church, but the unholy one is not considered a member of the Church at all. In Acts chapter two it is mentioned that 'the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.' To add to the Church those who were being saved, means exclusion from impure forms of living for the Church is a group of saints. Homosexuality is against the good name of Christianity

I believe that homosexuality is against the Mysteries of the Church. What can we say about the renewal of life, the transfigured life in Christianity if such defilement exists within the Church? How can we claim to have been received into a new life in Christ, clothing ourselves in Christ from the baptismal font, and carrying the stain of a defiled, fallen life? If the new birth that we have received includes defilement amongst its members, what can be said of salvation itself? Baptism is called into question. Chrismation is called into question. Marriage is called into question. And further as we will see, Holy Orders is called into question. Persons who suffer from a homosexual orientation should be ashamed. If they truly know the meaning of spiritual life, they cannot confess or otherwise advocate a deviant lifestyle

What rights are there for homosexuals? The only right is to be led to repentance. To live in such defilement of the body, in such dishonor, in such abomination, while all the time asking for liberties the Church cannot grant, is unbelievable. But what is even more unbelievable is that these purported rights are being encouraged by misguided members of the Church. For their part, and emboldened by such misplaced demonstrations of allegiance, homosexual rights advocates have even called for ordination to the priesthood

The nature and character of a homosexual priesthood as icon is against everything that holy Tradition has handed down to us as Orthodox. Members of this Tradition, the laity, charged with the responsibility of confessing the worthiness of the candidate for ordination by replying Axios (worthy), Axios (worthy), Axios (worthy), could hardly preserve the centuries entrusted them by admitting such a one. How could an individual incapable of repentance himself, lead another to repentance? If he cannot control himself, how can he guide others to such control? If he finds no peace or beauty in the holy life, how can he speak with confidence to others about the holy life? Will he rely upon the experience of others, speak of it as theory, or what's even worse, as fantasy, a thing for the childish? If he is carnal, how will he guide others to the spiritual? Moreover, what will people say about Christianity if such abomination happens in the Church

It is claimed that homosexuality is a kind of love between man and man. No, my brothers. Love should be spiritual; love should be pure. We love others in purity. We love others in the Spirit. And loving others should not be against our love of God, because our Lord Jesus Christ has said, 'He who loves father, son, wife, sister, or brother, more than Me, is not worthy of Me, is not worthy to be My disciple.' We cannot love any other person more than our Lord Jesus Christ. Every love which we have, should be love in the Lord. We love in the Lord, not against. The homosexual love is not love, but lust, and there is a great difference between love and lust, lust of the flesh. The word love is not suitable for such a relation, because in the Gospel we say, 'God is love.' How can we say, 'Homosexuality is love?' It is not love; it is a bodily lust, a deviated lust of the flesh, a lust that should be corrected. If a man loves another man, can he abuse the man whom he loves? Is this love or destruction? If a person loves a man, can he lead this man to lose his eternity and be punished in the next life? Is this a kind of love, to lose ones image, the image of God

Some people try to provide an excuse for the homosexual saying that he was born in this manner, that there was no express choice, and so unfairly burdened, he should not be held accountable. I tell you that if he was born in the manner described, we need to heal him, to purge him, to correct him, to pray for him, to guide him to repentance, to treat him medically and spiritually. But we may not say to him, all right, we accept you as a member of the Church and give you the Body and Blood of our Lord. While he remains in such a state, he is an abomination. I personally do not believe that one is homosexual by nature, certainly not in the way that is claimed by social theorists. We have had too many saints throughout the history of the Church who were fornicators before repentance, and they were corrected. They may not have been homosexuals, but they were fornicators, essentially the same sin, but without the deviation. St. Augustine is a good example, St. Moses the black another, and St. Pelagia still another. Through the grace of God, through the work of pastoral care, they were corrected. But we cannot say to the homosexual, your case is exceptional, your case is lawful. This cannot be accepted at all. Because if we give him this lawful status, that means we permit him to remain in sin and not to repent

We must keep in mind, my beloved, that we cannot flatter persons at the expense of the commandment of God. May I read you one or two verses from the first epistle to the Galatians, 'For do I now persuade men, of God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.' If I go on pleasing men in contradiction with the commandment of God, then I will not be the servant of Christ. If I want to please men in a correct way, then I should guide them to repentance. This is the spiritual way of pleasing others. We should persuade them so that they do not remain in sin and perish. There is no way to reconcile the pleasure of man, if it comes at the displeasure of God. What then is the benefit of pleasing men? In the kingdom of heaven no person who lives in defilement is allowed to enter. No fornicator can enter the kingdom of God. No sodomite can enter the kingdom of God. Or can we cancel all the words of St. Paul and St. Jude, and St. Peter, and all the others

Once I read a book written by one of the clergy, I am ashamed to say, a Bishop, who was defending homosexuals. He began to attack the doctrine of St. Paul, to say that St. Paul was abnormal. Can it be that we, in our desire to please men, have sunk so low as to speak against the Apostle, against those elect, elected by God Himself in a miraculous apparition and chosen to be the Apostle for the Gentiles, to be our Apostle, in order to please homosexuals? To please men more than God? Is this acceptable? Let me now return to the first words I said to you. I said I am happy, I am glad to be among the persons who are chosen to witness to the Lord. Our Lord said, 'But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me.' Of the homosexual He said, without repentance, you will perish. This judgment of our Lord was repeated twice in the thirteenth chapter of the gospel of St. Luke in verses three and five. He said, 'I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.' Can we find excuses for the homosexual in spite of all that the Lord has said? Is this love? No. It is not within the power of the Church. It is not within the power of the Church to justify the case of sinners, or to please sinners. We must guide them to repentance.

The clergy is bound with this responsibility. In St. Matthew chapter eighteen, God, our Lord Jesus Christ, gave His servants the Apostles, the priests, authority saying, 'I say to you whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.' Now we know that the authority to bind or to loose must be in harmony with the Bible, in obedience to the commandment of God. But if one should bind or loose in disobedience, then it will most certainly not be accepted by God. This is known to us from the epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, chapter one, verses eight and nine. 'But even if we (the Apostles), or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.' And again, 'If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.'

We are pastors to guide people through the commandments of God. We have not any power, nor any, to give any law contrary to the law of God. Why did our Lord give this authority, of how can this authority to bind and loose be explained? I think we may put beside it what was written in the prophecy of Malachi, chapter two, verse seven. 'For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.' The people take the law of the Lord from his lips, from his mouth, because he is the person who knows quite well the law of God, more than any member of the congregation. He is the teacher. He is the guide. So he binds according to the law of God which he knows, and he looses according to the law of God. But again, not in contradiction. St. Basil reminds us that the holy Apostle St. Paul dared to anathematize angels if another, or contrary gospel were Preached.

The responsibility of the clergy to the people is grave. It is repeated twice in the prophecy of Ezekiel, in chapter three and also in chapter thirty-three. 'Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: When I say to the wicked, You shall surely die, and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.' We are pastors. How can we suffer that the blood of these wicked persons who will perish be required from us? We should warn them and say to them that their present course will lead to destruction. And at the same time God says, 'Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, not from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.' The same words are again mentioned by our Lord in chapter thirty-three emphasizing this point. 'So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die! and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.' We should fear such condemnation. We should warn wicked persons and say to them that their path leads to death. If you continue to walk in the way of flesh you will die. You should obey the commandment of God. If we love our children in a spiritual way we should guide them to repentance; we should try to purge them, to cleanse them, to heal them, to save them, not to justify their sins. This is not good for them nor for us. They will perish and their blood will be required at our hands.

We must fear such condemnation. We must warn the wicked and say to them: �This is the way of death. If you walk according to the flesh you will die; you should obey the commandments of God.� If we love our children in a spiritual way we should guide them to repentance; we should try to purge them, to cleanse them, to heal them, to save them, not to justify their sins. This is not good for them nor for us. They will perish and their blood will be required at our hands.

A Christian View on Homosexuality


http://www.orthodoxcentral.com/articles/homosexuality.htm

Alexandr


Introduction.
The Christian moral viewpoint on homosexuality is founded on human reason illumined by faith and is motivated by the desire to do the will of God. There is a clear consistency within the Scriptures on the moral issue of homosexual behavior. The Church's doctrine regarding this issue is thus based not on selected verses but on the solid foundation of an unchanging Biblical testimony. The community of faith today, in unbroken continuity with the Jewish and Christian communities within which the ancient Scriptures were written, continues to be nourished by those same Scriptures and by the Spirit of Truth Whose Word it is. It is essential to recognize that the Scriptures are properly understood only when they are interpreted in accord with Church�s Tradition.

Fundamental to a discussion of homosexuality is the theology of Creation found in Genesis. God, in his infinite wisdom and love, brings into existence all of reality as a reflection of his goodness. He fashions mankind, male and female, in his own image and likeness. Human beings, therefore, are nothing less than the work of God Himself; and in the complementarity of the sexes, they are called to reflect the inner unity of the Creator. They do this in a striking way in their cooperation with him in the transmission of life by a mutual donation of the self to the other.

In Genesis 3, we find that this truth about persons being an image of God has been obscured by original sin. There inevitably follows a loss of awareness of the covenantal character of the union these persons had with God and with each other. The human body retains its �spousal significance� but this is now clouded by sin. Thus, in Genesis 19:1-11, the deterioration due to sin continues in the story of the men of Sodom. There can be no doubt of the moral judgment made there against homosexual relations. In Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, in the course of describing the conditions necessary for belonging to the Chosen People, the author excludes from the People of God those who engage in homosexual behavior.

Against the background of this exposition of theocratic law, an eschatological perspective is developed by St. Paul when, in I Corinthians 6:9, he proposes the same doctrine and lists those who behave in a homosexual fashion among those who shall not enter the Kingdom of God.

In Romans 1:18-32, still building on the moral traditions of his forebears but in the new context of the confrontation between Christianity and the pagan society of his day, Paul uses homosexual behavior as an example of the blindness which has overcome humankind. Instead of the original harmony between Creator and creatures, the acute distortion of idolatry has led to all kinds of moral excess. Paul is at a loss to find a clearer example of this disharmony than homosexual relations. Finally, I Timothy 1, in continuation of the Biblical position, singles out those who spread wrong doctrine and in verse 10 explicitly names as sinners those who engage in homosexual acts.

The Church, obedient to the Lord who founded her and gave to her the sacramental life, celebrates the divine plan of the loving and live-giving union of men and women in the sacrament of marriage. It is only in the marital relationship that the use of the sexual faculty can be morally good. A person engaging in homosexual behavior therefore acts immorally.

To choose someone of the same sex for one's sexual activity is to annul the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of the Creator's sexual design. Homosexual activity is not a complementary union, able to transmit life; and so it thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living. This does not mean that homosexual persons are not often generous and giving of themselves; but when they engage in homosexual activity they confirm within themselves a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self-indulgent.



If homosexuality is genetically determined . . .
Reports of scientific findings pointing to a genetic basis of homosexuality have confused the issue for many Christians who are asking themselves, �How can a trait which is mapped into one's human nature be a sin?�

If indeed there is a genetic element to a homosexual inclination, this is not necessarily surprising. Presumably, our genetic make-up affects great areas of our life. We can readily accept that it influences whether we are fat, athletic, short, blue-eyed, brainy or dull. Just as some people have a greater appetite for food than others, so some have a greater appetite for sex � and it is entirely conceivable that genetics is one of the factors responsible.

On the assumption that �homosexuality� is genetically conditioned, some people conclude that it is wrong to call it sinful. This is a false deduction, and for significant reasons. First of all, being wrongly worded, it throws the discussion off course. The canons and Fathers of the Church deal with specific acts and deeds and not with such abstract terms as �homosexuality.� The question could be better worded: If a homosexual inclination is genetic, how can a person be accused of sin for engaging in homosexual acts? This is better wording, but the premise is still wrong.

Though a large sexual appetite might be influenced by our genetic make-up, this does not mean that for people with such an appetite committing fornication or adultery is not sinful. Similarly with all the other sins. Something in people�s genetic make-up might incline them to a violent disposition � this does not mean that a so inclined is not sinning when he treats people with violence or commits murder.

Furthermore, from of old, Christians have known of the unholy trinity of the causes of sin: the world, the flesh and the devil. We are instructed to resist all three, and we fail � i.e., sin � if we do not. Surely if there is a genetic element to �homosexuality,� all we can say that there is something wrong in it: our flesh is not what it was intended to be � it is fallen and sinful.

For example, when I am tempted by gluttony � I can see the world, the flesh and the devil in this temptation. The world, in that I live in an affluent consumer society; the flesh, in that I have a huge belly and a propensity for eating; and the devil in that nagging thought that this or that would taste nice, or I can allow myself that, or that I should not make a display of abstemiousness, etc., etc.

Isn't it something similar with �homosexuality�? In the last generation, not only have �homosexuals� come out of their closets, but society's opinion of them has changed dramatically.





Excerpts from a letter by Priest Seraphim Holland on homosexuality.
... The clear teaching of the church is that any sexual impurity is a serious sin. This includes homosexuality, adultery, fornication, and similar moral aberrations.

When does this sin separate us from God? � When the sin is not repented of. If one is living a continual, habitual lifestyle in which sexual impurity plays a major role, and this person is not struggling to correct himself, he is estranged from God. The temptation to be sexually impure is not a sin. None of our temptations are sins, neither are our passions. One man may be inclined to be covetous, another easily angered, another may be attracted sexually to other men, etc. Our crown is won by doing battle with these passions, and �winning the kingdom of heaven through struggle.�[1]

Some people object on a visceral level when they hear homosexuality referred to as an �abomination.� This language is quite Scriptural, but it often offends people who have bought into the pluralism and relativism of our society. Many arguments can be made that prove that the practice of this sin is unnatural and leads to spiritual, moral and physical ruin more quickly than other sins. The informed Christian can easily find the Scriptures and canons to prove this. Homosexuality is a serious sin, the habitual practice of which will cause a man to be estranged from God, even more than some other sins, because of its effect on the soul of the sinner. The temptation to be homosexual is not an abomination, but the habitual, unrepentant practice of this lifestyle is an abomination.

There is a side effect to fornication between members of the same sex that is not present in the �natural� variety. Because it is so clearly proscribed in Scripture and church tradition, and the physical acts in it are never blessed by God (unlike heterosexual relations), some have been forced to make up incredible stories to justify their activities. This has led to heresy in other areas. One look at the suffering Episcopalians can show this. They are riddled with lesbian ministers, some of whom are even preaching a kind of �Goddess� worship.

Some homosexuals say things like, �You don't realize how much emotional and spiritual suffering I have gone through, because, through no choice of my own, I have discovered in myself a homosexual orientation. I was born this way.�

Christians understand about the emotional suffering. Sin causes suffering. This is no different than alcoholism, drug use, kleptomania, or any other sinful, abnormal condition. We all suffer because of our sins. Homosexuals suffer more that most, since many cannot even comprehend that their sexual activity (not orientation) is a sin.

As for �choice,� the Christian view is that a man may have a homosexual inclination (a passion), and still be God-pleasing. If he wars against this passion, as much as he would against blasphemy or anger, or any other inclination that, if acted upon, would be a sin, then he will be a great God-pleaser. If he caters to this passion, and satisfies it in blasphemous carnal relations, then he is far from God.

A devoutly religious person who regularly engages in homosexual relations, with self justification, is an oxymoron. The terrible problem is that such people, in the spirit of this age, are being convinced that their actions are not really a sin, just as women are being told that an abortion is not murder. How can a man or woman repent, if it is not �politically correct� to do so, and if they are being barraged with information which is designed to keep them from recognizing their sin?

Any man or woman can change � can stop being a drunkard, or liar, or homosexual, or blasphemer, or anything else, with God's help.

Hell is more painful than anyone can imagine. All sin leads to it, whether or not it is called �sin,� or �lifestyle,� or �orientation.�



Priest Seraphim Holland





Excerpts from the �Synodal Affirmations on ... Sexuality and the Sanctity of Life� (Orthodox Church in America, Tenth All-American Council, July, 1992).
Created to know God's divinity and power through creation, human beings have refused to acknowledge God, to honor and thank Him, and to obey his divine teachings. Through their rebellion �they became futile in their thinking and their senseless hearts were darkened� (Romans 1:21). Therefore, as the Apostle Paul continues to teach, �God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves...their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error� (Romans 1 :26-27).

Homosexual acts, like adulterous and incestuous behavior, are condemned in the law of Moses. Those who do these things, both men and women, are, according to God's law of the old covenant, to be put to death (Leviticus 18:6-23; 20:10-21).

According to the apostle Paul, those engaging in homosexual acts, along with fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers and robbers, will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Christians come from all these categories of evildoers who have, voluntarily and involuntarily, been caught up in the sin of the world. They are those who through their personal repentance and faith in Christ, their Baptism and Chrismation, and their participation in Holy Communion have been �washed...sanctified...and made righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit of our God� (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Orthodox Baptism and Chrismation Service).

Jesus teaches mercy and forgiveness for all sinners, but the Lord does not justify sin. When the Son of God pronounces divine pardon to those caught in evil he always charges the forgiven sinner to �go and sin no more� (John 8:11).

Convinced of these God-revealed truths, we offer the following affirmations and admonitions for the guidance of the faithful:



� Homosexuality is to be approached as the result of humanity's rebellion against God, and so against its own nature and well-being. It is not to be taken as a way of living and acting for men and women made in God's image and likeness.

� People with homosexual tendencies are ... to seek assistance in discovering the specific causes of their homosexual orientation, and to work toward overcoming its harmful effects in their lives.

� Persons struggling with homosexuality who accept the Orthodox faith and strive to fulfill the Orthodox way of life may be communicants of the Church with everyone else who believes and struggles. Those instructed and counseled in Orthodox Christian doctrine and ascetical life who still want to justify their behavior may not participate in the Church's sacramental mysteries, since to do so would not help, but harm them.

� Assistance is to be given to those who deal with persons of homosexual orientation in order to help them with their thoughts, feelings and actions with regard to homosexuality. Such assistance is especially necessary for parents, relatives and friends of persons with homosexual tendencies and feelings. It is certainly necessary for pastors and church workers.



.....



These affirmations on marriage, family, sexuality, and the sanctity of life are issued by the Holy Synod of Bishops on the occasion of the Tenth All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America.

Miami, Florida, July, 1992



Concluding remarks.

As in every moral disorder, homosexual activity prevents one's own fulfillment and happiness by acting contrary to the creative wisdom of God. The Church, in rejecting erroneous opinions regarding homosexuality, does not limit but rather defends personal freedom and dignity realistically and authentically understood.

Thus, the Church's teaching today is in organic continuity with the Scriptural perspective and with her own consistent Tradition. Though today's world is in many ways quite new, the Christian community senses the profound and lasting bonds which join us to those generations who have gone before us �marked with the sign of faith.�

Nevertheless, increasing numbers of people today, even within the Church, are bringing enormous pressure to bear on the Church to accept the homosexual condition as though it were not disordered and to condone homosexual activity. Those within the Church who argue in this fashion often have close ties with those with similar views outside it. These latter groups are guided by a vision opposed to the truth about the human person, which is fully disclosed in the mystery of Christ. They reflect, even if not entirely consciously, a materialistic ideology which denies the transcendent nature of the human person as well as the supernatural vocation of every individual.

The Church position cannot be revised by pressure from civil legislation or the trend of the moment. It has been argued that a homosexual inclination in certain cases is not the result of deliberate choice, and thus the person so inclined would have no choice but to behave in a homosexual manner. Lacking freedom, such a person, even if engaged in homosexual activity, would not be culpable.

Here, the Church's wise moral tradition is necessary since it warns against generalizations in judging individual cases. In fact, circumstances may exist, or may have existed in the past, which would reduce the culpability of the individual in a given instance; or other circumstances may increase it. What is at all costs to be avoided is the unfounded and demeaning assumption that the sexual behavior of homosexual persons is always and totally compulsive and therefore inculpable. What is essential is that the fundamental liberty which characterizes the human person and gives him his dignity be recognized as belonging to the homosexual person as well. As in every conversion from evil, the abandonment of homosexual activity will require a profound collaboration of the individual with God's liberating grace.

What, then, are homosexual persons to do who seek to follow the Lord? Fundamentally, they are called to enact the will of God in their life by joining whatever sufferings and difficulties they experience in consequence of their condition to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross. That Cross, for the believer, is a fruitful sacrifice since from that death come life and redemption. While any call to carry the cross or to understand a Christian's suffering in this way will predictably be met with bitter ridicule by some, it should be remembered that this is the sole way to eternal life.

It is, in effect, none other than the teaching of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians when he says that the Spirit produces in the lives of the faithful �love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control� (5:22), and further (5:24): �You cannot belong to Christ unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.�

Gordo, Although I pretty much disagree with much of your view, I think we both can agree on the first part of your paragraph here. I just think that those who bring this subject up would be more concerned with violence and prejudice against people because they are gay as they are with the sexual expression of it that they oppose. That in my opinion would be more consisantly Christian.
Peace to you!

Brian

Gordo, Although I pretty much disagree with much of your view, I think we both can agree on the first part of your paragraph here. I just think that those who bring this subject up would be more concerned with violence and prejudice against people because they are gay as they are with the sexual expression of it that they oppose. That in my opinion would be more consisantly Christian.
Peace to you!
Brian [/QUOTE]

Now hold on a second Brian. Nowhere do I condone violence against homosexuals. But to the best of my knowledge, there is no organized effort to beat the living daylights out of them. There is, however, a well organized and well funded effort to force their lifestyles upon us as a socially accepted norm. Just turn on the Great American Babysitter and you will see my words verified. Or is it only Christian to fight against politically correct wrongs and evils?

Alexandr

Sanctas Simplicitas!

Well said Alexandr!

Alexandr

It's the same argument made by those who promote the homosexual agenda. Say that Apostolic Christianity has always considered homosexuality to be an abomination, and someone will accuse you of advocating murder. After the murder of Matthew Shepard, homosexual activists were all over the airwaves villifying those in the pulpit who condemn homosexual behaviour, for in their words "promoting a culture of hate that inevitably leads to murder". The reality is that those who support the homosexual agenda are succeeding in stifling freedom of speech throughout the Western World. Ministers have been arrested in Sweden for hate speech, firefighters in Scotland suspended for refusing to march in a homosexual parade, and students on several college campuses can be suspended for so much as referring to homosexual behaviour as unnatural in a classroom discussion.

Isn't all sin an abomination before God? Certainly, habitual gossip, slander, defrauding others, etc. is just as evil if not more evil in God's eyes. I think, though, that I understand where Brian is coming from.

There are many in my family who would refuse to even acknowledge that one can struggle with homosexual inclinations. To them, it is purely a free choice and it shows that one has a depraved mind. In their eyes, a person with strong homosexual desires is simply depraved and damned. In many families with people like mine, a person who would even admit to struggling with homosexuality would either be shunned or constantly berrated. Some people have such a viscerally negative reaction that they can't fathom that there could be biological and psychological components to homosexuality. I have close family members who absolutely refuse to consider the possibility that there could be genetic and hormonal mixups that cause homosexual inclinations. Homosexuals are a class of people who have been systematically brutalized by the medieval church and by the Nazis. In the old days, an admission of homosexuality could land you in the insane assylum. The slang term "faggot" refers to homosexuals who were used as "sticks" on the burning pyres of alleged witches (fagotti is the Italian word for sticks).

I am not condoning homosexual practice. But, I do believe that we must be moderate and compassionate in our rhetoric. If there is a gay agenda today, it is because homosexuals have realized that unless they organize politically, they will be subject to the same kind of brutalization they have experienced at the hands of others. The Churches hold many kinds of sexual practices as immoral. But, I don't recall the Churches organizing to outlaw marriage between Christians and non-Christians, or to outlaw marriages conducted by the state, but regarded as sacramentally invalid by the Church. Peace in Christ,

Joe

A different, usually unreported, perspective on this topic. Warning, this article deals with violence:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52711

Well, Elton John has thrown his voice into this issue:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/13/britain.eltonjohn.ap/index.html

Let's just ban organized religion, he says. Well, no doubt, for everyone out there who advocates executing homosexuals, you'll find at least 1 (if not more) out there for implementing fascist measures against religion.

What boggles my mind is that such a moderately intelligent individual could have such a simplistic view of the world. Too many drugs in the 60s and 70s? Who knows? Peace in Christ,

Joe

Now hold on a second Brian. Nowhere do I condone violence against homosexuals. But to the best of my knowledge, there is no organized effort to beat the living daylights out of them. There is, however, a well organized and well funded effort to force their lifestyles upon us as a socially accepted norm. Just turn on the Great American Babysitter and you will see my words verified. Or is it only Christian to fight against politically correct wrongs and evils?

Alexandr [/b][/QUOTE]


No. But being anti-gay seems to be the focus of a lot of Christian hate. Practicing homosexuals are often criticized by Christians, but I seem to hear and read much less criticism of heterosexual sin. And since you mentioned television, it (and the rest of the media in the U.S.) are suffused with heterosexual porn, heterosexual promiscuity and non-Christian views on heterosexual sex. Yet, it seems that the gays bear the brunt of Christian condemnation. Could it be, perhaps, that gays are an easy target but that criticizing straight people might offend too many people in a given congregation or denomination ?

-- John

Actually John, since I don't personally know anyone who is an admitted homosexual, I spend alot more time openly criticizing heterosexuals who revel in fornication. I still remember the look of shock on a guy's face at my healthclub, when after he suggested that we both would love to sleep with the woman who just left the room, I answered back that "I didn't want to go to hell when I died".

Joe and John,

The problem is that you seem to regard heterosexual sin and homosexual sin as moral equivalents. Yes, all sin is evil and an offense against God, but certain sins tend to fall into the category of abomination - like the type that brought about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Despite the best efforts of some modern exegetes, I remain unconvinced that S&G were destroyed because of inhospitality! :rolleyes: )

There is indeed a hierarchy of descent in vice and sin just as there is a hierarchy of ascent in virtue and love of God and neighbor.

To your point about Christian tolerance of heterosexual sin in the media, I could not agree more. I think about some of the movies I've watched where cohabitation without the benefit of marriage is regarded as normative for couples. Never mind the statistics which indicate that cohabitation (and implied fornication) before marriage is almost a sure recipe for divorce after marriage.

I would even go so far as to say that the rampant tolerance for heterosexual sin has softened the culture to homosexual sin and even sadomasichistic practices.

"Let these things not even be mentioned among you."

I had the joy of watching the movie Therese', which I brought with me to Japan. I was struck by the innocence it portrays - both of its protagonist and her family. We need to begin thinking about ways to protect the innocence of children, even to the point of how to develop good and holy friendships. What is more, we also need to shepherd our own souls in the same way. Just because we are discerning adults should not mean that we can take whatever we want into our eyes and ears. We become what we gaze upon, no? This has been the greatest realization for me personally.

As one of my favorite Saints in Orthodoxy, Father John of Kronstadt wrote:

This quote has been something of a seed of meditation for me (a Christian koan of sorts during my journey here) regarding how a man can be in the world but not of it. The same can be said for families as well.

Gordo the sinner

I think that part of the problem in all these discussions is the fact that we often miss the positive side of sexual morality.

We're ALL called to chastity of life particular to our place in life. I think it is fair to say that the Church, whether Eastern of Western, calls us to holiness of life and that means that the only holy expression of our human sexuality is within the blessed state of marriage between a man and a woman. Even within marriage, not all practices that the culture promotes are blessed, simply because they tend to cheapen the relationship or can make one or both partners suffer in their basic human dignity and self-respect.

Outside of marriage, I don't care if one is single, straight, gay, widowed, divorced, or whatever, there is no sexual expression that is worthy of being called proper for a Christian. Whether with another person or by oneself, we are called to abstain from sexual expression of any and all kinds. And this message is countercultural if nothing else. Adultery, fornication, masturbation--I won't list the whole list; you get the idea--are all to be avoided by the committed Christian.

Now there are those who would soften this area and "wink" at some of this--some say that the widowed should have some slack because they've got to get used to their new reality; some say that the young should have some slack to "sow their wild oats"; some can find an excuse for almost everyone to "have some slack" to do whatever comes into their mind.

Maybe that's why I hear so much about abused infants, young children, etc. every day on the news.

True freedom is the freedom to do what we ought to do, not what we can conceive and then think we should allow ourselves to do. I think we miss the whole point when we don't emphasize the tremendous dignity we each have as the result of the Incarnation of Christ. No human being lacks dignity after that pivotal moment in history. If God can take on our flesh and can make it possible for us to be temples of the Holy Spirit, we ought to take seriously the care of the temple and the God-intended uses of its faculties.

As far as struggle goes, it seems to me that it intensifies as one progresses on the pilgrimage to the Kingdom. It does not get any easier, even within marriage. We have the Lord telling us that His "grace is sufficient" for us. I believe in this we need to support one another in the struggle and encourage one another along the way.

In Christ,

BOB