Met. Jonah

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Metropolitan Jonah offers condolences to Coptic Pope Shenouda after Christmas eve murders

Metropolitan Jonah urges faithful to join DC March for Life

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Met. Jonah at the March for Life in 2009

WASHINGTON, DC [OCA] — Orthodox Christians everywhere — especially those within driving distance of the US capital — are being encouraged to bear witness to their faith at the annual March for Life on Friday, January 22, 2010.

His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah has issued a special invitation encouraging youth and young adults to join him in proclaiming that all life is indeed a gift from God.

The faithful are asked to gather by noon under the “Orthodox Christians for Life” banner to the left of the stage at the Ellipse, between the Washington Monument and the national Mall. Metropolitan Jonah will be the first of several speakers to address the public at the pre-March program.

At the conclusion of the March, Metropolitan Jonah will offer prayers for the victims of abortion.

On Thursday, January 21, the eve of the March, the faithful are encouraged to join Metropolitan Jonah for Vespers at Saint Nicholas Cathedral, 3500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, at 7:00 p.m. A reception will follow.

On the morning of the March, Metropolitan Jonah and members of the Holy Synod of Bishops will concelebrate the Divine Liturgy at the cathedral at 8:00 a.m.

Students from Saint Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood, NY and Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, South Canaan, PA, will form a combined choir to render the liturgical responses at both services. Classes at both seminaries will be suspended for the day to encourage participation by faculty and students alike.

Following the March, Metropolitan Jonah will offer the invocation at the annual Rose Dinner at DC’s Hyatt Regency Hotel.

While additional details concerning the the Orthodox Christian witness will be forthcoming, general information on the March may be found at www.marchforlife.org/content/view/13/26.

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).

The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

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At noon today a group of Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant leaders unveiled a document called “The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience” that affirms the traditional Christian teaching concerning abortion, homosexual marriage, and religious freedom. The Declaration asserts that these three issues (sanctity of life, the definition of marriage, and freedom of worship) are under assault in western Democracies and call Christians into non-violent resistance against the injustices and, if necessary, non-violent non-compliance with the laws that would require a Christian to violate his conscience. (Read full text.)

The Declaration opens:

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are (1) the sanctity of human life, (2) the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife, and (3) the rights of conscience and religious liberty…We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The three issues that Declaration signers see as preeminent and the rationale for opposition:

Human Life

The lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are ever more threatened. While public opinion has moved in a pro-life direction, powerful and determined forces are working to expand abortion, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide, and euthanasia…We pledge to work unceasingly for the equal protection of every innocent human being at every stage of development and in every condition. We will refuse to permit ourselves or our institutions to be implicated in the taking of human life and we will support in every possible way those who, in conscience, take the same stand.

Marriage

The institution of marriage, already wounded by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is at risk of being redefined and thus subverted. Marriage is the original and most important institution for sustaining the health, education, and welfare of all. Where marriage erodes, social pathologies rise. The impulse to redefine marriage is a symptom, rather than the cause, of the erosion of the marriage culture. It reflects a loss of understanding of the meaning of marriage as embodied in our civil law as well as our religious traditions…Marriage is not a “social construction,” but is rather an objective reality—the covenantal union of husband and wife—that it is the duty of the law to recognize, honor, and protect. Continue reading →