| Opinion on Same-sex Marriage Contemporary Issues Last Updated: Feb 8th, 2011 - 05:50:02 Opinion on Same-sex Marriage Priest Sergei Sveshnikov Oct 17, 2008, 10:00 Discuss this article Printer friendly page Source: Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia Priest Sergei Sveshnikov is the Rector of the New Martyrs of Russia Orthodox Church, Mulino, OR, near Portland. He shares his thoughts on the recent decision of the Council of Elected Commissioners of Multnomah County on the issuing of marriage certificates for homosexual marriages. We have recently witnessed the heightening of passions in America over so-called " same-sex marriages. " In those jurisdictions where such " marriages " have been approved (San Francisco, Portland), there were demonstrations, protests for and against, even to the point of arrests. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of Americans, having been reared on tolerance, look upon all of this with bewilderment. Television screens and newspapers are filled with images of men in passionate kisses and the stories of two older women who had spent their entire lives together, who only now have been given those same human rights which more traditional couples have had. On the other hand, having already achieved the division of church from the state (unfortunately, not of the state from the church), Protestant movements suddenly, as one (well, almost, for each family has an ugly duckling), are calling upon judges and politicians to heed what is written in the Bible, or at least not to break centuries-old Christian traditions. What are we to make of this turmoil? I do not wish to render an opinion on the position taken by the " gays " that they were ostensibly born this way and cannot do anything about it—I am not sufficiently educated in the natural sciences, but the dilettante in me feels that if we turn to the animal kingdom, we find that homosexuality may exist there, but it is a clear departure from " the natural order of things " (what would happen if Butch loved Fido and not Lassie?). Such a " gay " pedigree would quickly end in nature. |
| Photo: doxologia.ro What does it mean to be spiritual? The world knows and promotes all kinds of “spiritualities” related to music, art, nature, leisure, sports, and many other kinds of human activities, including religious and quasi-religious practices. Many such activities are fairly harmless and promote a sense of physical and emotional well-being. Others however may involve obsessive preoccupations with popular music, sports or other forms of entertainment, and may actually be quite harmful, such as in the case of experimentation with drugs. For Orthodox Christians, being spiritual has to do with ordinary Christian living based on faith in God as we know Him in the person of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. For an Orthodox Christian, the first thing about being spiritual is not to dare think that you are spiritual but only humbly to seek to live by your faith in Christ and His teachings. Faithfulness, humility, discernment, peacefulness, love, truthfulness, compassion, and inner joy are the primary attributes of Orthodox spirituality. Orthodox spirituality is a quality of life that is always anchored and grows out of Orthodox piety. Orthodox piety is a way of life defined by observance of the ordinary expressions of Orthodox Christian life: regular worship, prayer at home, lighting and offering a candle, baking and offering the prosforo, fasting, philanthropy, celebrating the feast days of the liturgical calendar, reading the Scriptures and the writings of the Church fathers, serving in one of the Church ministries and services, and above all, fervent faith in Christ and whole-hearted obedience to His teachings. An Orthodox Christian can never cease doing the works of Orthodox piety, or somehow circumvent them, or think to rise above them, and still think that she or he can make progress in spiritual life. Spiritual growth occurs by reliance on God’s grace and attentiveness to practicing and living by the full meaning of the acts of piety and so to transform, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, Orthodox piety into Orthodox spirituality. For example, a person can light a candle without much thought and be done with it. However, as one offers a monetary gift, takes up a candle and lights it as an offering to God, and at the same time, again and again, perceives that symbolically she or he is offering herself or himself to God, and that the flame of the candle is her or his burning faith in God, or doubly also the flame of the baptismal grace in the soul—all this turns a pious act into a spiritual act full of meaning and power for strength and newness in life. |
| Real beliefs actually produce real religion, like church attendance, prayer and charity. But " religious opinions " have no power to produce any real religion. On any given Sunday, what is the most likely reason for why a youth might not be in Liturgy (or Mass, or Morning Worship, or Praise/Celebration/Happening)? Because, statistically speaking, he or she is probably not. The present reality is very different from that moment of Pentecost, when thousands entered the new apostolic church and continued to do so at an obviously miraculous rate. Contrary to the nattering doctrines of church growth and evangelism consultants (and especiatlly the hysterical secret-agent folk of the New Apostolic Reformation), the “numbers added daily” was never a goal for the church, or even a “value.” It was a sign , rather, and the signification was obvious. The entirety of human nature, renewed and assumed into Christ, had become the Holy of Holies. The new eschatological Israel was now present and real. But nowadays, there is no such sign — at least, not phenomenonally here, not in the globalized West. The inescapable fact is that the Christian West is living in a patently “John 6.66” moment. If you do not know this verse, with its troubling numerical reference, permit me to refresh your memory: “After this many of His disciples drew back and no longer went about with Him.” It should be noted that the incarnate Second Person of the Trinity actually experienced a decline in His attendance figures. This was immediately after His troubling doctrinal teaching on the Trinity and the Eucharist. Across the board, “Christian participation” in religion is in sharp decline — even in the Orthodox community, much as we would rather not admit. And please do not bring up megachurch numbers as a counter-narrative: those numbers mostly represent people who have laterally migrated from one Christian community to another. (The megachurch is to more authentic neighboring parishes what a brandnew Super WalMart is to mom and pop stores downtown.) |
| Word of a Pastor III: On Divine Revelation Natural revelation alone is not enough to explain the universe to everyone. It happens that observation of the surrounding world brings people to different and often opposite conclusions. Therefore it was the Lord’s good pleasure to give people other news about Himself: supernatural Revelation. We continue the serialization in English of an extensive series on the fundamentals of the Orthodox Faith by His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. A famous philosopher came to Abba Anthony the Great, an Egyptian solitary who lived in the fourth century, and asked him: “Abba, how can you live here, in the desert, deprived of the consolation of reading books?” Pointing with his hand at the blue sky, the scorching sun, the mountains, the desert sands, and the sparse vegetation, the solitary replied: “My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things; and, when I desire to, I can read God’s works therein.” Our world is a great book of Divine Revelation. Looking at it, all endowed with reason, man’s power of observation and analysis cannot but marvel at the harmony, beauty, reasonableness, and rationality that are present in everything, from molecule to galaxy. The question involuntarily arises: could an irrational, chaotic, and unconscious beginning be the source of this sound and harmonious existence? People who deny God explain everything as an accident. Matter existed always and everywhere, they claim, and at some point it began to develop in such a way that, as a result, this wonderful world was born. Why do they think this way? Because, in our wisely-arranged and judicious world, no apparent source of reason is detectable. It would seem that there is a rational world, but no source of rationality. It is natural to assume that this source is outside our world, but then one must invariably recognize the existence of God. Otherwise, one needs to opt out of the search for an intelligent design of life. And then the only reason for the birth of the universe remains in recognizing some kind of random “spontaneous combustion,” some kind of unwitting impetus that initiated things by a random combination of circumstances that, in some inexplicable way, predetermined the fantastically complex process of the perfection of matter from the simple to the complex, from the inanimate to the living, from the irrational to the rational, and from lava to the human brain, conscience, love, and the sense of beauty. Thus, is the beginning of the world reasonable or inadvertent? Was it created, or is it accidental? |
| Introduction As world population rapidly heads towards seven billion and technology becomes ever more sophisticated, it seems as if the future world will be run as a Digitocracy. In such a system, perhaps not so distant now, authorities will be able to register and number every human-being born on earth electronically in a universal and obligatory DNA Facebook. Such a Western end-game of Digitocracy would enable complete control and manipulation of every individual on the planet by a single world ruler and his centralised and computerised bureaucracy. After all, the beast of the end time will have a number, and not a name. For the last hundred years in particular, the world has seemed to be intent on speeding towards this self-inflicted end in a series of suicidal acts of hatred of God, man and self. However, we know that this rush to embrace spiritual and physical death is not inevitable. It can be slowed, stopped and even reversed. However, in order to do any of this, all who are willing must first be baptised into the Orthodox Church in the Name of the Holy Trinity and strive to live by Her. And if this is to happen, a number of very basic missionary principles must be followed. These principles are inherent in the very definition and nature of the Church as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Oneness The Orthodox Church is One. Therefore, we must oppose the spirit of divisiveness and every movement of fragmentation which enters Church life. Unfortunately, this spirit came to the fore in the Orthodox world at the beginning of the last century, among intellectuals and their pseudo-intellectual imitators in Russia. Protestantised, and so lacking the collective or ‘catholic’ sense of the Church, they and their descendants later formed egotistical personality cults in the Russian emigration, especially in France and the USA. In turn, in the emigration they recruited converts, mainly from Protestantism, for like attracts like. Their general reflex is even more to divide the Church, whenever there is a disagreement even with a single individual in the Church, they leave and found a ‘new Church’ or ‘jurisdiction’. The level of intolerance may be such that some refuse even to speak to others because they do not agree with them about some tiny detail. Only the renewed consciousness that the Church is One, and so greater than any number of personalities, can overcome such a spirit of division. |
| Скачать epub pdf The greatness of God God is the highest and most perfect Being, Creator, and Director of the world, eternal Spirit, omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. In His Being God is beyond comprehension not only for humans, but also for the angelic understanding: «Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see» ( 1Tim. 6:16 ). «If you wish to speak about God,» writes St. Basil the Great, «renounce your body and physical feelings, leave the earth, leave the sea and make the air be beneath you. Pass over the seasons of the year, their proper order, the adornments of the earth, stand higher than the ether, pass through the stars, their beauty, greatness, benefit, which they offer to the whole, good order, light, position, movement, and that, how many connections and distance they have between them. Passing over all this with the mind, go around the sky and, stopping above it, with one thought visualize all the beauty there: disregarding the armies of the Angels, the leadership of the Archangels, the glory of the Hosts (Authorities, Thrones, Principalities, Powers, Cherubims and Seraphims, – these are the names of the angelic ranks. The Angelic, spiritual world is much larger than our physical), the chairmanship of the Thrones, Powers, Principalities, Powers. Passing over all these, leaving all creation below your thoughts, raising your mind beyond the boundaries of it, imagine in your thoughts God’s essence, immovable, infallible, unchangeable, impassive, simple, uncomplicated, light unapproachable, power beyond words, limitless greatness, glory radiant, kindness coveted, beauty immeasurable, which strongly strikes the wounded soul, but cannot by its merit be portrayed by words.» Such loftiness of spirit demands reflection upon God. Paradoxically, though, notwithstanding all the limitations of his mental and spiritual powers, a person from early childhood strives to know God . The instinctive aspiration of human thought to a Higher Being and spiritual peace is observed among peoples of all races, cultures and levels of development. Apparently, in the very nature of a person there is something which, like a magnet, attracts him upwards, into an invisible and perfect sphere. The Holy Scriptures calls this «something» in a person « the image and likeness of God ,» which the Creator included in the foundation of our spiritual being ( Gen. 1:27 ). Only the existence of this kinship between the soul and its Creator can explain why people entirely devoid of religious education, in the most unfavorable circumstances, by themselves gradually acquire fairly true notions about God. It is also noteworthy, that God reaches out to the person searching for him and in some mysterious way reveals Himself to that person. |
| Дмитрий Рогожин Аннотация. В статье рассматриваются ключевые положения богословских воззрений свт. Феофана Затворника на природу ангелов и души в сравнении со взглядами свт. Игнатия (Брянчанинова) на естество духовных существ. Осмысливаются понятия «конечной духовности» и эфирности применительно к сущности ангелов и человеческой души. Заключительная часть настоящей статьи посвящена краткому сравнительному анализу суждений свтт. Феофана Затворника и Игнатия (Брянчанинова) об отношении духовных существ к земному бытию и возможности определения конкретного местонахождения ангелов и душ в физическом пространстве. Abstract . The article deals with the key provisions of the theological views of St. Theophanes the Recluse on the nature of angels and the soul in comparison with the views of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) on the nature of spiritual beings. The concepts of «ultimate spirituality» and ethereality are comprehended in relation to the essence of angels and the human soul. The final part of this article is devoted to a brief comparative analysis of the judgments of St. Theophan the Recluse and St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) on the relation of spiritual beings to earthly existence and the possibility of determining the specific location of angels and souls in physical space. Как известно, ангелология, то есть церковное учение о духовном мире и его обитателях, а также антропология, в рамках которой раскрывается православное учение о человеке и его природе, традиционно относятся к богословским разделам, преимущественно входящим в область православной догматики. Между тем сам свт. Феофан Затворник не был в строгом смысле слова догматистом, как, например, его знаменитый современник митр. Макарий (Булгаков) , а богатейшее духовное наследие епископа Феофана в основном состоит из таких творений, которые имеют не столько догматический, сколько духовно-аскетический, нравственно-поучительный и экзегетический характер. На фоне означенных творений особняком стоит небольшое сочинение богословско-полемического содержания с говорящим названием «Душа и ангел – не тело, а дух». Таким образом, упомянутое сочинение наряду всего лишь с несколькими отдельными письмами из эпистолярного наследия святителя, по сути, является единственным трудом, в котором преосв. Феофан делает глубокий анализ догматического учения Церкви о природе бесплотных духов и человеческой души. |
| священник Даниил Салищев Аннотация. Целью настоящей статьи является исследование метафизических причин человеческой греховности согласно свт. Феофану Затворнику и прот. Василию Зеньковскому . Свт. Феофан и прот. Василий для изложения своих взглядов пользовались разной терминологией, однако приходили к похожим выводам. Автор статьи приходит к заключению, что категория греха имеет духовную природу. Сама по себе возможность согрешить коренится в богообразности человека. Забвение Бога приводит к состоянию экзистенциальной неполноты, сопровождающемся «ничем не удовлетворимой жаждой», «томлением о бесконечности». Человек стремится утолить эту метафизическую жажду Бога грехом, но от этого она лишь усиливается. Abstract . The purpose of this article is to study the metaphysical causes of human sinfulness according to St. Theophan the Recluse and archpriest Vasily Zenkovsky. St. Theophan and pater Vasily used different terminology to express their views, however, they came to similar conclusions. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that the category of sin has a spiritual nature. The very possibility of sinning is rooted in the godlike nature of man. Forgetfulness of God leads to a state of existential incompleteness, accompanied by «nothing to satisfy thirst», «longing for infinity». Man seeks to quench this metaphysical thirst for God with sin, but this only increases it. Целью настоящей статьи является ответ на вопрос о метафизических причинах человеческой греховности согласно свт. Феофану Затворнику и прот. Василию Зеньковскому . Свт. Феофан и прот. Василий для изложения своих взглядов пользовались разной терминологией, однако приходили к похожим выводам. Сравнительный анализ их теорий позволит оценить вклад, которые сделали данные авторы в разработку рассматриваемой проблемы. Важно отметить, что мы сопоставляем взгляды свт. Феофана и прот. Василия не по причине влияния первого на второго, но на основе близости тех положений, которые они высказывали независимо друг от друга – свт. Феофан в сотериологическом, а прот. Василий Зеньковский – в педагогическом аспектах. |
| Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus opposes revision of the Church tradition regarding sodomy/Православие.Ru Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus opposes revision of the Church tradition regarding sodomy Athens, April 5, 2015 Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus has severely criticized attempts revise the Church tradition regarding sodomy, reports AgionOros.ru with reference to Romfea. “The enemy is striving to make us, people, slaves to the flesh and to the sin, to turn spiritual creatures into material ones, like dumb animals…” “The Orthodox Church respects private life and man’s free will. However, it should be noted that the process of legalization of the crime against the human nature and physiology is going on: today the vile passion of homosexualism has been legally recognized; tomorrow pedophilia will be legalized (take Holland, for example); the next will be bestiality (Germany). This is the gravest crime against Eternal God and the human personality, repeating the blasphemy of Sodom and Gomorrah.” “Justification, support and promotion of these shameful and ungodly passions as well as attempts to present them as a variation of the norm are unnatural and inadmissible. The Holy Scriptures which express the Will of God more than once condemn homosexuality as a passion, a sin and abomination.” “For all the Holy Fathers homosexuality is one of the most corrupt and unclean sins, an outrageous ingratitude to the Creator, blasphemy and denial of the Gospel. The public propaganda of homosexuality is like a plague on both the family and the society. Moreover, it will cause psychopathological disorders in children raised by same-sex couples (and we are being actively urged to accept this practice).” 6 апреля 2015 г. Предыдущий Следующий Смотри также “Satan has crawled like a snake into the Finnish Parliament” Jonah Beckham “Satan has crawled like a snake into the Finnish Parliament” Johan Beckman If the given law is in fact passed, then this will signify the end of Christianity in the official Church of Finland. |
| Tweet Нравится Patriarch of Serbia calls gay parade a rally of perversions and vices Belgrade, May 17, 2014 Patriarch Irinej of Serbia has called the gay parade " the tip of the immoral iceberg and a gathering of all perversions and vices " . " I have pity for these people, who belong to the so-called gay population. This is a disorder or an aberration of human nature... I cannot understand why they are imposing this problem on us and are openly demonstrating it, " said head of the Serbian Church in his interview with the Nedelnik newspaper, answering the question whether the Serbian Church was intending to strive for prohibition of the gay parade by the authorities. This year again in the Serbian capital a weeklong action, " Gay pride parade " is being prepared, rich in various events, exhibitions and concerts popularizing different manifestations of the LGTB community's activities. Preparation for these actions has again split the Serbian society, as the majority of the Serbian population are opposed to such events. Last year, a similar " Pride parade " was accompanied by blasphemous and profane tricks. Furthermore, representatives of the EU countries and the USA exerted unprecedented pressure on the Serbian authorities and the public to hold these events, and various European politicians and diplomats played an active part in promoting them. Pravoslavie.ru 18 мая 2014 г. Квитанция Реквизиты для юридических лиц Реквизиты для переводов из-за границы Оплата с банковской карты Visa, MasterCard и Maestro Оплата наличными через кассы и терминалы Пожертвование через Сбербанк Онл@йн Яндекс.Деньги Альфа-клик MasterPass Интернет-банк Промсвязьбанка скрыть способы оплаты Квитанция Реквизиты для юридических лиц Реквизиты для переводов из-за границы Оплата с банковской карты Visa, MasterCard и Maestro Оплата наличными через кассы и терминалы Пожертвование через Сбербанк Онл@йн Яндекс.Деньги Альфа-клик MasterPass Интернет-банк Промсвязьбанка скрыть способы оплаты Предыдущий Следующий Смотри также Metropolitan Amfilohije: “Gay pride parades” are parades of death” Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov) Metropolitan Amfilohije: “Gay pride parades” are parades of death” Hieromonk Ignaty (Shestakov) In his recent interview with the journalists of Vesti newspaper Metropolitan Amfilohije of Montenegro and the Littoral stressed that the attitude of the Church towards the so-called “gay parades” remains unchangeable. |
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