Last updated on November 25th, 2022 at 09:29 am
Orthodoxy Christianity has always declared that it must remain faithful to the ancient teachings of the Church and thus is forbidden to add or subtract anything from them. This is why the Orthodox Church has always considered itself the “Guardian of the Faith.” As Church scholar Paul Evdokimov has written: “[T]he unprejudiced observer will one see one consistent principle running right through every detail of Orthodox life: faithfulness to the primitive edition.”
Staying true to its Tradition, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) recently issued a Statement on Same-Sex Relationships and Sexual Identity confirming the Church’s adherence to its perpetual teachings regarding marriage and sexuality. In its defense of marriage as being the union of one man and one woman, the Holy Synod declared:
“The Orthodox Church teaches that the union between a man and a woman in marriage reflects the union between Christ and His Church (Eph. 5). As such, marriage is by this reflection monogamous and heterosexual. Within this marriage, sexual relations between a husband and wife are an expression of their love that has been blessed by God. Such is God’s plan for male and female, created in his image and likeness, from the beginning, and such remains his plan for all time. Any other form of sexual expression is by its nature disordered, and cannot be blessed by the Church in any way, whether directly or indirectly.”
The statement then cites the words of Metropolitan Tikhon at the 2015 All-American Council of the OCA:
“… the Orthodox Church must continue to proclaim what she has always taught: that marriage is the union between one man and one woman and the Orthodox Church in America can in no way deviate from this teaching…”
The Holy Synod then states its support for God having created just two sexes, male and female, not the seventy or more “genders” that one can choose from on places like Facebook:
“[I]n accord with the timeless plan of God our Creator, the unchanging teaching of Christ the Savior announced through his holy apostles and their successors, and the consistent witness of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, the Holy Synod affirms what the Scriptures clearly and plainly proclaim and the holy fathers unerringly confess, namely: that God made human beings in two sexes, male and female, in his own image, and that chaste and pure sexual relationships are reserved to one man and one woman in the bond of marriage.”
While the Church defends marriage and two sexes, it nevertheless:
“expresses its pastoral concern and paternal love for all who desire to come to Christ and who struggle with their passions, temptations, and besetting sins, whatever those might be. The Church is a hospital for the sick; Our Lord has come as a physician to heal those who are ailing. Imitating our Savior, who stretched his arms wide on the Cross, we welcome with open arms all who desire the life of repentance in Christ.”
The Holy Synod then firmly calls upon everyone in the Orthodox Church in America to adhere to its teachings on these issues:
“We call upon all clergy, theologians, teachers, and lay persons within the Orthodox Church in America never to contradict these teachings by preaching or teaching against the Church’s clear moral position; by publishing books, magazines, and articles which do the same; or producing or publishing similar content online. We reject any attempt to create a theological framework which would normalize same-sex erotic relationships or distort humanity’s God-given sexual identity.”
Anyone in the Church who contradicts these teachings must immediately cease doing so or face ecclesiastical discipline:
“Any clergy, theologian, teacher, or lay person who contravenes our directive thus undermines the authority of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America by disregarding the Holy Synod’s consistent and unwavering teaching on these matters. We call on any such persons to cease their disruptive activities, which threaten the peace and tranquility of the Orthodox Church in America, cause scandal and uncertainty, and tempt those who struggle against their disordered passions to stumble. Consequently, those who teach these errors become participants in the sin of those whom they have tempted or whom they have failed to correct, and thus should seek remission of this sin in the mystery of holy confession. Those who refuse correction open themselves to ecclesiastical discipline.”
In issuing its strongly-worded Statement on Same-Sex Relationships and Sexual Identity, the leadership of the Orthodox Church in America has once again–as always–remained faithful to its ancient Tradition going back to Jesus Christ by defending marriage and the two genders against the heresies of the modern world. No amount of clamor by left-wing theologians will ever convince the Church to abandon the unchanging teachings of the Apostles and their successors. In a modern Western world dominated by radical elites, the Orthodox Church once again demonstrates that it is the bastion against which the gates of Hell will not prevail.
Photo: Holy Synod, Orthodox Church in America