Marriage

Lithuania defies EU to promote family values

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Some European nations are resisting the secularist and statist over-reaching of the EU bureaucracy. The article mentions the Russian Orthodox Church’s criticisms of EU cultural aggression and its overtures to the Roman Catholic Church in resisting it. Article from Mecator.net.

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Sidestepping critics, Baltic nation strengthens family-friendly law on public information.

Lithuanian Parliament

Lithuania lawmakers ended their year by amending a law on the protection of minors that had been condemned as “homophobic” by the European Parliament and other international bodies. But they did so in a way that strengthens and clarifies legal restrictions on public information which is out of synch with human dignity and family values. The small Baltic nation thus once again stands out for boldness among European states, such as Ireland and Italy, which are resisting the imposition of secularist policies by European Union bodies.

The new legislation, adopted by the parliament in Vilnius on December 22, eliminates a clause banning the promotion among minors of “homosexual, bisexual, and polygamous relations”, replacing it with a ban on public information “that encourages [any type of] sexual relations among minors that denigrates family values or that promotes any concept of marriage and the family other than that defined in the Lithuanian Constitution and Code of Civil Law” (which states that marriage is between a man and a woman). The amendments also make clear that the legal restrictions apply to education, the media, advertising and all other types of public information.

“Lithuania is a European state that holds to traditional ethical values which it has no intention of abandoning.” Irena Degutiene, chair of Lithuanian parliament

The law, first adopted in July, limits a wide range of public information considered harmful to young people, including graphic violence, instructions on how to make explosives, presentation of drug use in a positive light, pornography, ridiculing and discriminating against people or groups on the basis of their race, religion, social status or sexual orientation, and “the encouragement of behavior that degrades human dignity”.

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Met. Jonah: Why I signed the Manhattan Declaration

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Met. Jonah explains why he signed the Manhattan Declaration. H/T Peter and Helen Evans

Interviewer: Why did you sign the Manhattan Declaration?

Met. Jonah: …I believe in the same basic principles that are enunciated in the Manhattan Declaration. I believe also that many of them are the basic teachings of the Church regarding human life and how we are supposed to live — first and foremost the stance on pro-life, the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, and how critically important it is to protect that every step of the way…

See the complete interview and more interviews with Orthodox signers (and others) on the Peter and Helen Evans website (website under construction).

Met. Isaiah speaks out against same-sex marriage

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Protocol 09–12
September 24, 2009

The Reverend Clergy, and
The Pious Faithful of the Holy Metropolis of Denver

Beloved in the Lord,

Met. Isaiah of Denver (GOA)

Earlier this year I attended the 25th Anniversary Banquet of one of our parishes, and was invited to offer a few remarks before the final prayer, which I did. As I do at all anniversary celebrations of parishes, I express the hope and the prayer that the parish will continue to exist even to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In mentioning the glorious return of the Lord, I also allude to the final day events in the world which the Lord states will be like the final days of Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:29,30) and that the people of the Church must try to live according to the teachings of Christ for their salvation.

At this particular parish I did the same thing, using two examples to stress the fact that we are living in the last days before violent events take place. I mentioned the legality of abortion in this country, which has killed tens of millions of unborn infants. I also mentioned the idea of making “same sex marriage” legal in our country. I neither condemned nor did I criticize anyone, because I could not do this.

Unfortunately, one or two persons took offense at my mentioning the legality of “same sex marriage”, and one of them verbally accosted me as I sat down. Since that day I have received two letters condemning me for what I said in regard to “same sex marriage”. Continue reading →

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Before the Manhattan Declaration: ‘A Letter from America’s Religious Leaders in Defense of Marriage’

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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 →

Bishop Thomas on the Manhattan Declaration

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Thomas, Bishop of Charleston/Oakland and Assistant to Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, posted an informational item on the Manhattan Declaration and included links to educational resources on the sanctity of life and marriage. Bishop Thomas encouraged his flock to share his message with parishioners in the diocese. Key paragraphs:

Bishop Thomas of Charleston (AOA)

1. With regard to abortion, the Orthodox Church forbids it. We do everything we can to align ourselves with the mind and teachings of the Church.

2. With regard to marriage, we obviously only bless marriages between one man and one woman. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). Having said this, it is also important for us to understand that the union between a man and a woman should exist within the Mystery of Holy Matrimony.

3. The Scripture clearly forbids homosexuality. It is not necessary for me to direct you to Scriptural passages that deal with this issue. The Tradition of the Church speaks with one voice concerning the expression of sexuality as proper only between a man and a woman who have been united as husband and wife. Homosexuality is clearly outside of the proper, blessed, and life-nurturing context of Holy Matrimony.

4. With regard to the freedom of religion, we, of course, support the freedom of each person to make a choice concerning religion. Orthodox Christians likewise possess the freedom to reject the teachings and practices of all non-Orthodox religions and secular ideologies. Love and tolerance for others do not imply agreement or consent. We reject such “political correctness.” As Orthodox Christians, we must reject and respond to attempts by non-Orthodox groups to inhibit us from speaking, teaching, and living the inalterable Tradition. Since the days that immediately followed Pentecost, Christians have lived up to their responsibility to say “yes” to Christ and “no” to false gods and ideologies that contradict the true Faith.

We recognize the authority of the state, endeavor to obey the civil laws established to preserve order in society, pray for our leaders, and prefer to work in cooperation with the state (symphonia) for the good of men. Christ taught us to “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17, NKJV). When edicts of the government conflict with the divinely revealed Orthodox Faith, we are obliged to disregard such edicts, insofar as they contradict the Faith, and continue to live according to the Tradition as our sainted Fathers and Mothers have done throughout the generations before us. When the temporal state attempts to usurp the divinely-rooted authority of the Church, our obedience to God and loyalty to His Kingdom must prevail. As the Holy Apostles said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29, NKJV).

Read Bishop THOMAS on the Manhattan Declaration on the Antiochian Web site.

Sign the Declaration here.

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