Moral issues

Letting Go, Letting God – Only Christ Can Save Us

Letting Go, Letting God - Only Christ Can Save Usby Regis Martin –
When the wise and virtuous men of old looked upon the world, they saw it in the light of eternity. In the shadow of that standard, blazing bright beneath the heavens, everything lay exposed, including the sins and pretensions of men. There was no escape for the self-centered self. Judgments were to be made solely in relation to reality, which the mind could know and the will could follow.

The only question worth asking was how to shape the human soul in order that it might conform, ever more perfectly, to reality—to Jesus Christ, [Read more…]

Christians Cannot Watch Indifferently and Allow Evil to Abuse Good and Destroy Innocence

Christians Cannot Watch Indifferently and Allow Evil to Abuse Good and Destroy Innocenceby Archbishop Averky (Taushev) –
When a gentle word of persuasion has no effect, when people are so steeped in evil that they do not yield to any admonishment and continue doing evil, a Christian cannot and should not take refuge in this teaching of the forgiveness of all, sit indifferently with his arms crossed, and apathetically watch as evil abuses good, as it increases and destroys people, his close ones.

To indifferently watch the ruin of a close one by one who has lost his senses and become a bearer of evil is nothing other than the breaking of the commandment of love for one’s neighbor. Every type of evil should be immediately thwarted with the most decisive measures, even including the sacrifice of oneself in an unequal struggle. [Read more…]

Scandalous Activists Attack OCA Synod For Rejecting Same-Sex Unions and LGBTQ Identities

Scandalous Activists Attack OCA Synod For Rejecting Same-Sex Unions and LGBTQ Identitiesby Fr. Ioannes Apiarius –
Faith is Fear, Tradition is Tyranny, Sin is Virtue, Truth is Falsehood, Order is Oppression

An Orwellian, ungodly spirit continues to engulf and embolden homosexual and academic activists (inside and outside the Orthodox Church) who seek to normalize homosexuality, legitimize “gay marriage,” and incorporate the LGBTQ madness in the teaching, practice, theology, and sacramental life of the Orthodox Church.

To counter and call to repentance those deceptive voices, the OCA Synod, at the latest All American Council of the Orthodox Church in America, issued a clear and direct statement that categorically rejects same-sex unions and any of the false LGBTQ sexual identities that contradict the right order and theology of the Orthodox Christian faith: [Read more…]

All Mount Athos Monasteries Denounce Scandalous Conduct of Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay Couple

All Mount Athos Monasteries Denounce Scandalous Conduct of Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay CoupleMonks and Abbots of Mt. Athos –
It is clearly foreign to the teaching of the Gospel and the Orthodox ethos to allow it to be understood that a “same-sex couple” can be considered as a family and to recognize the right of such a couple to adopt children

On the occasion of recent public appearances and positions taken by members of the clergy of the Church, including hierarchs, who have created the impression that it is possible for the Church to accept any other form of family, apart from the one established by the Holy Gospel, the Holy Community of Mt Athos wishes to respond publicly.

The Holy Mountain, as a place of prayer and asceticism, in an unbroken liturgical and spiritual continuity, [Read more…]

OCA Synod Categorically Rejects Same-Sex Unions and Homosexual Self-Identity

We reject any attempt to create a theological framework which would normalize same-sex erotic relationships or distort humanity’s God-given sexual identity.
OCA Synod Categorically Rejects Same-Sex Unions and Homosexual Self-Identityby OCA Synod –
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, [Read more…]

Reasons Why The Orthodox Church Cannot Baptize Surrogate Children of Homosexual Couples

Reasons Why The Orthodox Church Cannot Baptize Surrogate Children of Homosexual Couplesby Fr. Antoine Melki –
There were many reactions in the news and on social media to the Baptism celebrated by Abp. Elpidophoros, the head of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, of two children from a surrogate mother, whose paternity is claimed by two men who declare an association in a same-sex marriage. Some of these reactions are serious while some others are emotive, for or against the act. The discussion of the legality of what happened is not the concern of this article, although the form required for the Baptism in the Orthodox Church was not respected.

Regardless of the political and social effects of this Baptism or the scandal that it provoked among believers, the aim here is to respond to the emotional reactions and questions that some people raise, whether out of ignorance or bad intention, such as whether any priest has the right to refuse the Baptism of any child; what about the children of fornication; and other questions. [Read more…]

The Beauty of Holiness Carries Surprises

Orthodox Nuns The Beauty of Holiness Carries Surprisesby Fr. Gabriel Rochelle –
The beauty of holiness is in the face of a nun. Beauty untouched by any artificial, chemical, or cosmetic means can stun you, especially if costuming prevents you from viewing the rest of the body. When you are limited to the face you see with an intensity that eludes you if there is more to observe. It’s like being deprived of one of your senses, which accentuates and heightens and sensitizes the remaining senses. If you see a figure robed in black except for the oval of her face you see more than were she clothed in is called normal attire.

The beauty of holiness is evident in all ages. Age has not only its privilege but also its unique beauty. This is also true, then: the holiness of beauty may be seen in the face of a nun – and it is ageless. [Read more…]

Met. Seraphim of Piraeus Denounces Heretical Conduct of Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay Couple

Met. Seraphim of Piraeus Denounces Heretical Conduct of Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay Coupleby Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus –
Consequently, this particular Hierarch … preferred the “modern gospel” of the serpent to the teaching of the Church and is now under the curse of the Holy and God-bearing Fathers

We have emphasized in many of our interventions that the Church, the Body of Christ according to the heavenly Apostle Paul (Eph 1:23) is the land of converted sinners, and the revealed God Word declared “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17). The proclamation of the same Apostle of the Nations (1 Tim 1:15-16) is significant, as he claimed only one first place, that of the first of sinners. This is why the Church of Christ has always surrounded the fallen man with infinite love, because there is no sin or crime that cannot be healed and restored by the unfathomable patience of the Holy Creator of life and man. [Read more…]

Met. Antonios of Glyfada was Deceived by Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay Couple

Met. Antonios of Glyfada was Deceived by Elpidophoros on Baptism for Gay CoupleMetropolitan Antonios of Glyfada released a public statement indicating that he was deceived by Abp. Elpidophoros regarding the kind of baptism that was going to be performed in his church in Greece. Elpidophoros failed to mention he was going to baptize surrogate children of “married” homosexuals in order to get Metropolitan Antonios’ approval.

As reported by Helleniscope from an “Espresso” interview with Metropolitan Antonios of Glyfada:

“The Archbishop sent me a document, asking me for permission to baptize the two children of the Busis expatriate family of Chicago. In this letter he did not give me any other information, therefore I considered that it was a baptism like all the others, and so I gave him, as I owed, the permission” stated Metropolitan Antonios and added: “I was informed by the rest by the priests in this Church late on Saturday afternoon, after the sacrament had taken place. Elpidophoros never contacted me again.” [Read more…]

Righteousness Is Not A Part Time Job

Righteousness Is Not A Part Time Jobby Abbot Tryphon –
The quest for righteousness is not a part time job.

Teachers and parents routinely remind children of the importance of refraining from giving in to peer pressure, knowing that good behavior can often be undermined by the desire to fit in with their friends and schoolmates.

We adults need to remember that we, too, are often subject to peer pressure. When we are surrounded by people who always take the moral high road, who are honest in their business practices, and respectful in the way they treat other people, our own adherence to the commandments of God is made easier. [Read more…]