homosexual marriage – AOI - The American Orthodox Institute - USA

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“Putting a homosexual marriage on the same level with a conventional one is a conscious destruction of fundamental public morals providing a basis for a global demoralization of society.”

On 21 January 2010, the Theological and Canonical Commission at the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church made public its Resolution on abortions and same-sex marriages. The document is timed to the session of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) due to take place later in January to consider discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The resolution says the PACE drafts imply to impose an extensively distorted concept of marriage. The resolution condemns propagation of homosexuality as a fancy way of life because it undermines the foundations of family relations which are an integral part of relations in society. Using slogans to protect the rights of people “with nontraditional sexual orientation” as a cover,” – the document of the Theological and Canonical Commission at the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church underscores, – “their advocates have set up a background in society which largely discriminates natural marital relations of men and women.” Putting a homosexual marriage on the same level with a conventional one is a conscious destruction of fundamental public morals providing a basis for a global demoralization of society.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church presented her vision of the issue in the addresses to the President, Prime Minister, to the leaders of the Verkhovna Rada, and to other Ukrainian statespersons.

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 →