8

Some say that it is "okay" some say that it is not, but these are just opinions. What does the Orthodox Church thing about that, and how do they deal with it?

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    @hbrock - that is advice I'd give on the street, and I personally agree, but it's not within the scope of this site to do so. See the help page and How we are different than other sites?
    – David Stratton
    Jun 8, 2014 at 18:50
  • 1
    The Greek Orthodox Church does not. Does that answer your question?
    – Double U
    Jun 9, 2014 at 1:03
  • Is this nonsense an issue in the East? I thought it was just an issue of the West destroying itself.
    – david brainerd
    Jun 9, 2014 at 1:41
  • @Anonymous, that would answer the question. Do you know of a source that explains that explicitly?
    – Paul Draper
    Jun 22, 2014 at 15:01

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

According to this article from the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, marriage should be reserved for a man with a woman, and struggle with homosexual desires can have benefit to a person's spiritual growth.

How is the Christian to understand the appeal for homosexual marriage? Persons with a homosexual orientation are invited to use their struggle as a means of sanctification. In scripture homosexual behavior is not blessed by God and specifically prohibited: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination" (Leviticus 18: 22); and from St. Paul: "... because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. 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 ... " (Romans 1:25-27). This is not the same thing as saying that a person who struggles with same-sex desire has lower value in the eyes of God. The focus is on the behavior, not the person.

this post is an example of gay marriage ceremony with Orthodox Church traditions, but it makes it clear that it was not performed in a non-Orthodox church building, and the church's website confirms that the officiating pastor was not Orthodox.

Improve this answer
3
  • 1
    The alleged Orthodox "gay" wedding ceremony, mentioned near the end of this article, was performed by a Lutheran pastor, not an Orthodox Priest. Hence, this was not an Orthodox service, even if it followed to some extent the text of the Orthodox service.
    – user21734
    Jun 13, 2015 at 19:23
  • @frjames Thank you for your clarification. If anyone can confirm the officiator's non_Orthodox status, please feel free to edit the answer.
    – Bit Chaser
    Jun 15, 2015 at 12:39
  • 1
    The linked post says the ceremony was performed in Trinity East Side church (a Lutheran Church). The officiator mentioned in the article, Rev. Phil Trzynka, is the pastor the of that Lutheran church. He is not an Orthodox priest. The website indicates Pastor Phil is also married to a man.
    – sirdank
    Mar 4, 2016 at 15:27

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .