{"id":13288,"date":"2017-08-19T21:55:49","date_gmt":"2017-08-19T11:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rocor.org.au\/?p=13288"},"modified":"2017-08-19T21:55:49","modified_gmt":"2017-08-19T11:55:49","slug":"pastoral-epistle-concerning-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/?p=13288","title":{"rendered":"Pastoral Epistle Concerning Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dearly Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts\u00a0<\/em>which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles,\u00a0<\/em>that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works\u00a0<\/em>which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.<\/em>
\n– I Peter 2:11-12<\/em><\/p>\n

Today, in a number of jurisdictions of the Commonwealth, there are those who\u00a0are pushing for same-sex marriage under the guise that love should be freely and\u00a0equally given to all. We now see a movement to present this issue as the will of\u00a0the people and have those in opposition branded as bigots and homophobic.\u00a0Nevertheless the Church is obliged to speak the Truth as it has been passed down\u00a0to us from Our Lord Jesus Christ. The following is a statement from the Eastern\u00a0American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia explaining\u00a0to all the stance of our Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur humanistic society makes plain its continued alignment against Christ and\u00a0His Church. We see in this judicial decision a willingness by both the state and\u00a0those who support such rulings to deny even the basic principles of Christian\u00a0moral teaching, even to label these timeless precepts of our Faith “hate.” Sadly,\u00a0we see among this number fellow Orthodox Christians.<\/p>\n

St. John the Theologian wrote in apostolic times that “the whole world lieth in\u00a0wickedness” (I John 5:19). What, then, can we say about our own world? The\u00a0modern world beguiles many who call themselves Christian into believing that\u00a0“love” is the inspiration behind the support of Supreme Court\u2019s decision\u00a0endorsing same-sex marriage. But in reality the modern world aims at requiring\u00a0us who follow Christ into pretending that sin does not exist, and that we happily\u00a0applaud our brothers\u2019 path to perdition. We should not be fooled into calling this\u00a0“love,” but must see it for what it is. Many will say that as Christians we must not\u00a0judge, but indeed our Lord tells us to “judge with righteous judgment” (John\u00a07:24), and we must not label sin a virtue.<\/p>\n

Under the cover of this deceptive exterior, which leads so many into delusion,\u00a0there is taking place a powerful and now not-so-hidden attack against
\nChristianity. This assault is subtle and far more dangerous than open\u00a0persecution, for it threatens not physical death, but a devastation of souls \u2013
\nspiritual death, fed by apathy and comfort. This is achieved when built-up\u00a0human pride, which leads away from God, begins boldly to reject the very
\nexistence of God. Seized with pride, self-assurance, and reliance on his own\u00a0powers, possibilities, and capacities, man raised in the ideals of humanism and\u00a0materialism no longer sees any obligation to strive for the spiritual perfection\u00a0enjoined by the Gospel and, as a natural consequence, descends ever deeper into\u00a0moral corruption.<\/p>\n

We must recognize this if we hope to understand what leads people to accept\u00a0such immoral acts and promote the legitimacy of same-sex marriage. This is yet\u00a0another form of temptation that we must face. A free society does not “liberate”\u00a0the Church from what She has been given and has faithfully taught for two\u00a0millennia: that no sinful lifestyle, including one freely engaging in unnatural\u00a0biological acts, is compatible with Christianity; that those who pursue such\u00a0lifestyles cannot live a full sacramental life in the Church; and that the Orthodox\u00a0Church will never redefine the mystical, matrimonial union of man and woman,\u00a0as that union reflects the bond between God and His chosen people, between\u00a0Christ and His Church.<\/p>\n

It is essential that we not forget that it is God Who created the two sexes, and\u00a0established marriage at the time of creation, as our Lord Jesus Christ tells us: “\u2026\u00a0from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this\u00a0cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and the two\u00a0shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore\u00a0God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:6-10; cf. Genesis\u00a01:27; 2:24; 5:2). One of the primary and divine purposes of marriage \u2013 one that\u00a0many of our country’s leaders have forgotten \u2013 is the procreation of children: “be\u00a0fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). As we are reminded in special petitions of\u00a0the Great Litany of the Wedding Service, “that He (God) will grant unto them\u00a0chastity and the fruit of the womb as is expedient for them,” “that He will make\u00a0them glad with the sight of sons and daughters,” and “that He will grant them\u00a0the procreation of virtuous offspring.” And further, in the prayer that follows this
\nlitany, the priest prays that the couple “increase and multiply,” have a “peaceful\u00a0life, length of days, chastity, mutual love in the bond of peace, long-lived seed,”\u00a0and that they are vouchsafed to “behold their children\u2019s children.” With regard to\u00a0the duty of spouses to preserve mutual faithfulness, Christ said: “What therefore\u00a0God hath joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6).<\/p>\n

Sexual life enhances love and adorns marital harmony. Outside of marriage, the\u00a0manifestation of sexual instinct can easily become an independent force that\u00a0destroys the fullness of the personality. This damage is especially dangerous\u00a0because all of the high creative impulses of man are closely tied to his sexual life.\u00a0Sexual restraint heightens spiritual powers, but sexual dissipation weakens them.\u00a0Thus, we are called upon to preserve our personal moral purity because our\u00a0bodies, according to the word of the Apostle Paul, are members of Christ and\u00a0temples of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 6: 19).<\/p>\n

We call upon our flock not to despair, but rather to strengthen your prayers, first\u00a0and foremost for those who \u2013 now more than ever \u2013 are led astray: those afflicted\u00a0with homosexuality themselves. As every barrier to sin is removed, they are all\u00a0the more at risk. They \u2013 our brothers and sisters \u2013 are told from the rooftops to\u00a0embrace this corrosive passion, to take “pride” in it, and to revile the salvific\u00a0Gospel teaching as antiquated and hateful. Our hearts ache for these children of\u00a0God. Let us not forget that they are made in His image, and that any word not\u00a0spoken in love can fortify in their hearts the grievous lie that the Church means\u00a0only to condemn, rather than save them.<\/p>\n

We likewise repeat the affirmation that the Church is a place for healing spiritual\u00a0sickness, not a tribunal; that any Orthodox Christian engaging in public\u00a0discourse must do so with love, must avoid any extremism, and must, most\u00a0importantly, refrain from claiming to speak authoritatively on behalf of the\u00a0Church; that homosexual acts can be repented of, and in no way prevents one\u00a0from returning to the bosom of the Church. We call upon our clergy to uphold\u00a0the God-inspired teachings of Holy Scripture and the Fathers regarding marriage\u00a0and family life, and to do so with the love and compassion that must set us apart\u00a0as Christians, always showing the path to reconciliation with Christ.<\/p>\n

Let us pray that the Lord grant us all faith, wisdom, discernment, and courage to\u00a0follow Him to the end, remembering the words He spoke before undertaking the\u00a0ultimate sacrifice in His love for us: “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but\u00a0take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dearly Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts\u00a0which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles,\u00a0that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works\u00a0which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. – I Peter 2:11-12Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,7],"tags":[194],"class_list":["entry","author-protodak","has-more-link","post-13288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-articles","category-diocesan-news","category-english","tag-epistle"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13288"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13292,"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13288\/revisions\/13292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocor.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}