The official position
Submitted by Dirk Gently on November 03 1999 at 00:40:12
In reply to What are the various Eastern Orthodox posistions on same-sex physical relationships? Submitted by d on November 02 1999 at 13:03:51
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Y'know, it's funny. As part of the process of becoming Orthodox, I read more than a few books on history, theology, historical theology, spirituality, blahblahblah (really, it was all good stuff!) but it was only after I read your question that I realized none of them mentioned homosexuality! Since I didn't want to simply give you my opinion, I poked through my bookshelves a bit -- couldn't find anything. I even skimmed through The Sacrament of Love, which was quoted in Heather's quote of Rogers. Nothing. I did find a few nifty factoids and quotes. Here's one, speaking about marriage: Orthodoxy does not have a unified code for all the Churches. Even though this state of affairs presents some inconvenience, a unified Canon Law would presuppose a "single type" as the norm for local Churches, which would be alien to the spirit of Orthodoxy. The profound unity of faith and worship allows for different forms of expression depending on the local tradition. The dogmas represent what is immutable in revelation, the canons that which is changeable in the historic forms of Church life. The aim of the canons is to circumscribe the dogmatic essence of an epoch and thereby help the believers embody it in their lives. Beyond the relative and time-bound forms of the canons, the canonical consciousness seeks in outdated forms the spirit that gave them life and that is always identical to itself. So, in the lack of documented facts, here come a few anecdotes, a little bit of hearsay, and some personal opinion based on my own church experience. Once my priest took a friend and I to visit a monastery. While we were there, I met two Catholics who were also visiting. They didn't identify themselves as such, but the impression I got was that they were gay. They also felt welcome there, and had been there more than once before. A monk that I know worked for some time in an AIDS hospice in "civvies." From what I've read and heard, the terminal stages can be fairly nasty-looking, but he still speaks of his "angels" that he met there. How Our Parish Dealt With AIDS is the report of an Orthodox parish in Montreal, Canada that lost three members to the disease. One of my email correspondents told me that a "pro-gay" priest who was a psychologist had "introduced gays into our congregation until it became a national church issue." She has worked professionally with many gays over the years, and lately has been attending a lot of funerals. Her take on the issue is that "We are all sinners, created in the image and likeness of God, and retaining that image until our death. I think it's necessary to remember that, no matter what sin or abomination we are discussing. It is not so remarkable that we sin, but that God chooses to preserve His image within us, by His mercy. So, I don't see what's wrong with saying that, whereas overt homosexual behavior is demonstrably wrong, loyalty and faithfulness, which some homosexual couples have demonstrated over the years, are admirable qualities. Whatever is "right" about someone, Jesus chose to emphasize, not overlooking the need: "Great is your faith! Your sins are forgiven," etc. Unfortunately, we sometimes are so optimistic and hopeful that we need to be reminded, at times, that the devil rips around after us like a roaring lion." What was the question again? Oh yeah. How do the various Eastern Orthodox churches view people in homosexual relationships? "Cool - better than being straight" - "no big deal" - "tolerated" - "tolerated but they can't serve in high church office" - SINNER!!!!" - "PURGE THEM FROM THE CHURCH!!!!" or something I didn't mention. None of the above. I really don't know how it is handled, other than to say it must be with great discretion. (I know of no cases.) My assumption is that the pastor would treat homosexual relationships in the same way he would treat fornication in general. I've met Orthodox folks from all five continents. I can't claim to present "the consensus" because this was never really a topic for discussion. However, given the general conservatism regarding morality, I'd say that the behaviour is viewed as sinful, but no cause for witchhunts. The paradigm in Orthodoxy isn't a juridical one, it's a medical one. Yes, we're all sinners, but rather than heap condemnation on the guilty, the pastor's role is to determine the appropriate medicine to heal the sick. My gluttony is as problematic as someone else's gossip. The greatest area of concern I've seen when homosexuality has been discussed is not the "sinfulness" of it, but the rejection of the past 3500 years of biblical revelation and church history. I'm aware of the alternative readings for the traditional "anti-gay" passages. I just don't buy them. Dirk |