While I do appreciate Father Josiah’s effort to actually make a public statement and unequivocally express the Orthodox Church’s position on same-sex relationships and marriage, or perhaps, more appropriately termed, civil unions, I did find his words to be inadequate on more than one level: intellectually (there were no citations that could be referenced and verified) emotionally (I was not moved by what he had to say but rather felt uncomfortable, not because he was stating the Church’s view but because of how he said it) and spiritually (it seemed to be lacking in sensitivity and had undertones of anger…we don’t preach fire and brimstone sermons and persuade anyone by fear or even logic but rather we change hearts and minds and heal souls through the power of love).
Perhaps Father Josiah’s words in this 2 part speech were an off the cuff reaction in the wake of the Californian judge’s decisions and are not as impressive as he is capable of. Nevertheless, when making public statements we Orthodox Christians, both clergy and laity, need to do a better job articulating our Church’s position than this particular speech. I believe that Father Thomas Hopko’s statement recently posted here on AOI is the ideal expression.
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