Manhattan Declaration

Peter and Helen Evans are posting interviews with signers of the Manhattan Declaration. The latest is Robert P. George. They have around 20 interviews including some Orthodox signers on their site www.peterandhelenevans.com.

Given the vitriol, smug arrogance, and sectarian sentiment with which some Orthodox Christians have greeted Orthodox Christian participation in the Manhattan Declaration, let us review the 2006 letter below which was signed by Archbishop Demetrios and Metropolitan Herman. In fact — and this may be upsetting to some readers so brace yourself — Archbishop Demetrios was bookended on this list by Chuck Colson and James Dobson.

Let us also revisit SCOBA’s 2003 “Statement on Moral Crisis in Our Nation” which defended traditional marriage. “The Orthodox Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality, firmly grounded in Holy Scripture, 2000 years of church tradition, and canon law, holds that marriage consists in the conjugal union of a man and a woman, and that authentic marriage is blessed by God as a sacrament of the Church,” SCOBA said. This statement, in many quarters today, would likely be described as hate speech.

Note that the following statement calls for a constitutional amendment “to establish a uniform national definition of marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman.” It’s all so … religious right, isn’t it?

Sign the Manhattan Declaration here.

A Letter from America’s Religious Leaders in Defense of Marriage
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Apr 25, 2006

Throughout America, the institution of marriage is suffering. As leaders in our nation’s religious communities, we cannot sit idly by. It is our duty to speak. And so across the lines of theological division, we have united to affirm, in one voice, the following:

For millennia our societies have recognized the union of a man and a woman in the bond of marriage. Cross-culturally virtually every known human society understands marriage as a union of male and female. As such marriage is a universal, natural, covenantal union of a man and a woman intended for personal love, support and fulfillment, and the bearing and rearing of children. Sanctioned by and ordained of God, marriage both precedes and sustains civil society. Continue reading →

George Michalopulos answers the “Orthodox Priest” (name withheld) whose critical comments about the Manhattan Declaration were posted on The Observer (here) by Harry Katopodis:

A Response to an Orthodox Priest Regarding the Manhattan Declaration

Dec 21, 2009

Reverend Father, bless! Christ is in our midst!

As you can tell by my name, I am a layman, not a clergyman. Neither am I a theologian, therefore what follows must be viewed with that in mind. Be that as it may, I am at a loss to understand how the Manhattan Declaration is a document whose “…theology is not Orthodox” (as you state). This is a bold assertion. Therefore I am forced to ask which heretical and/or heterodox teachings were promulgated within the Declaration. As two Orthodox bishops and several Orthodox priests were involved in its creation, I need to know if they were wrong in any way.

You then go on to state that the Declarations “approach to pastoral ministry…is not Orthodox.” Unless I am mistaken, this document makes no mention at all of pastoral responsibilities as its intent is simply a declaration of first principles as commonly understood within the light of 2,000 years of Christian tradition. Usually pastoral issues are the province of a pastor and his parishioner. Continue reading →