Fr. Hardun

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The faculty of St. Vladimir’s website will be posting occasional essays on topics of current events. In this essay, Dr. Peter Bouteneff, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, discusses ecumenical dialogue, particularly how different contexts and settings shape how discussion occurs. Dr. Bouteneff is a reader of the AOI blog and an occasional contributor.

Source: St. Vladimir Seminary

Recently, the Orthodox internet was abuzz with the words of Fr. Siarhei Hardun, an Orthodox priest from Belarus who had been invited as an “ecumenical delegate” to the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church, USA. Fr. Siarhei’s words, which can be seen in their entirety here, were indeed memorable: he said that some of what he witnessed at this meeting seemed like an attempt to “invent a new religion — a sort of modern paganism.” He added that “When people say that they are led and guided by the Holy Spirit to do it, I wonder if it is the same Holy Spirit that inspired the Bible.”

As Fr. Hardun later explained to me, most of what shocked him had to do with the Assembly’s treatment of gay marriage and abortion. While the marriage of homosexual couples was not formally sanctioned by this meeting, nor was the ordination of practicing homosexuals, the discussion was apparently alienating enough to merit comment. However, a provision that was approved by a majority of 60% obliges congregations to compensate their staff who needed time off work to get an abortion.

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