| Should pastors grease the Kardashian celebrity machine by mentioning Bruce Jenner from the pulpit? There are good arguments for ignoring the whole thing, but I think that’s a pastoral mistake. So much of our cultural trajectory converges on Bruce: our rampant Gnosticism, our confidence in technology, our moral libertarianism and determined flight from biblical standards, our cult of fame, our sexual self-contradictions. Bruce Jenner will be forgotten soon enough, but what he represents isn’t going away, because transgressiveness is one of the few cultural imperatives that we are not permitted to transgress. If we preach about Bruce, what should we say? When I asked the Jewish theologian David Novak how a synagogue would respond, his answer was stunning in its simplicity: First, “Jews would not recognize Jenner as a woman”; then, “Torah forbids castration.” Castration doesn’t turn a man into a woman. It only leaves him a damaged man. Novak was referring to Deuteronomy 23:1: “No one who is emasculated, or has his male organ cut off, shall enter the assembly of the Lord.” As long as we’re looking for proof texts, we might add Deuteronomy 22:5: “A woman shall not wear a man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.” It doesn’t matter that the cross-dressing is surgical rather than sartorial. If men are forbidden to wear bras, we are presumably also forbidden to wear breasts. Many Christians don’t think Jesus said anything relevant to questions like this, but he did: “He who created them at the beginning made them male and female” (Matthew 19:4). Jesus was answering a question about divorce, but, as John Paul II showed, Jesus appeals to the “beginning” as a revelation about the created pattern of sexuality. Jesus didn’t mean, God made everything, therefore he must have made both male and female. He meant, God made a male and then made a female. God created each individually, and he created the distinction between them. The creation account makes this clear, distinguishing the origin of Adam (from the ground) from the origin of Eve (from Adam). |
| Writing about the Biblical texts, Elder Sophrony Sakharov, one of our leading modern theologians, says that even if they were to be lost in some way, we would be able to re-write them, not in precisely the same words, but certainly in the same spirit. It is quite clear from this that there is no question of making the actual letter and text of the Scriptures into objects of worship in themselves. It is obvious and well enough known, in any case, that the Church preceded the Scriptures, since it already existed, living in its own Tradition, when it established the canonical books, with all that involves. What, then, are the Scriptures? To put it simply, a written part of the total God-inspired Tradition of the Church. Unfortunately, however, the Protestant outlook of sola scriptura which was encouraged, wittingly or unwittingly, by brotherhoods in Greece which acted as organizations parallel to the Church, has seeped into our own way of thinking. I have read, in the writings of a modern theologian that he doubts the authenticity of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Holy of Holies, because it clashes with our rationalism and, even worse, is not transmitted by the canonical books of the Church. But this theologian is overlooking the fact that this feast, taken from the (apocryphal) Proto-Evangelium of Saint James, has not only become part of the official celebrations of the Church, but has been established through the relevant hymns, which make it very much part of Church Tradition. Can the Fathers really have been so deceived over so many centuries? This would seem highly unlikely. I’ve been told that another university teacher, who passed away recently, doubted the translation/resurrection of the Mother of God, again precisely because it’s not transmitted in the written Biblical tradition of the Church. The strange thing is that at the university where the man held his post, the canon of Scripture, as represented and expressed in the Spirit by the saints and the bishops in synod, is most emphatically taught. It’s astonishing that our Tradition should be held in doubt by people who ought to have understood its value far better. In this particular instance, this professor placed himself above the great Gregory Palamas, who spoke very clearly on the subject of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Is it accidental that this particular person was the leader of one of the para-ecclesiastical organizations? |
| “Catechesis” (Greek for “instruction”) is the formal name for classes given to those wishing to join the Orthodox Church. In addition to covering everything from the origins of Scripture to the theology of icons, I’ve always left room in my curriculum for questions. Over the years, I’ve heard some pretty interesting ones. But there’s no question as to which took the cake. A few years ago, a woman asked, “Can you explain what would happen if you were accused of sexual misconduct — how someone would submit an allegation, and how it would be dealt with?” Good thing I wasn’t sipping my tea at the moment, or it might’ve come out my nose. That one caught me off guard, but after a little shock I welcomed it as insightful. It so happens that accountability in such matters is extremely important to the Orthodox Church in America. A decade ago, our central administration came out with official “Policies, Standards and Procedures on Sexual Misconduct.” These were inspired largely by lessons learned from the tragic experience of our Roman Catholic brethren. Given the focus on it, you’d think this document was a lost Apostolic writing. Clergy must review it annually with their parish councils. So, equipped with the familiarity that comes from repetition, I was able to (nervously) explain what the procedure would be for dealing with me — including that allegations involving a minor must be reported to both church and civil authorities. And that even in cases of consenting adults, any sexual contact between a member of the clergy and someone not their spouse is deemed “non-consensual” by definition. Although not legally abusive, such a relationship would be considered spiritually abusive, and the offending cleric defrocked. When I finished explaining, my class said that was one of our most valuable sessions ever. I was quite surprised. To be honest, we clergy sometimes feel burdened by all the compliance reports and supplemental training — not to mention having to run criminal background checks on every adult in the parish who has more than incidental contact with minors, or is deemed a person in authority. |
| BREAKING: Aborted baby’s heart was beating as we harvested his brains: worker in new Planned Parenthood video Source: LifeSiteNews A former procurement technician who helped harvest organs at Planned Parenthood said she saw a baby boy's heart beating outside his body before the child's body parts were extracted. Holly O'Donnell, a former procurement technician at StemExpress, said at Mar Monte’s Alameda clinic in San Jose a co-worker named Jessica brought over the most fully developed baby she had ever seen and said, “I want you to see something kind of cool.” There she saw the “closest thing to a [fully-developed] baby I've seen.” “It had a face. It wasn't completely torn up,” she said. “Its nose was very pronounced.” “She has one of her instruments, and she taps the heart, and it starts beating.” “I'm looking at this fetus, and it's heart is beating,” O'Donnell said in astonishment. “I don't know if that constitutes it's technically dead, or it's alive,” she continued. Dr. Ben Van Handel, the vice president of Novogenix Laboratories, says on the video “there are times when, after the [abortion] procedure is done, that the heart is still beating.” O'Donnell said that, after showing her the child's beating heart, Jessica told her, “This is a really good fetus, and it looks like we can procure a lot from it.” She then asked O'Donnell to remove the baby's brain with scissors through the baby's face. “I can't even describe what that feels like,” O'Donnell said. “That was the moment I knew I couldn't work for the company anymore...even if it was the cure for some disease.” Planned Parenthood says that fetal tissue donation is a " humanitarian undertaking " and it is not guilty of any crime. The video – the seventh released by the Center for Medical Progress – underscored revelations made in previous videos that Planned Parenthood officials alter the method of abortions they perform - not out of medical necessity for the mother - but in order to obtain a baby's body intact. |
| I have been warning (with increasing intensity) about a pending medical martyrdom–forcing doctors to choose between killing and continuing in their profession–both from the contexts of statutory law and professional discipline. Now, in the Netherlands, we see a doctor reported to the medical board–essentially for malpractice–for recommending against a euthanasia killing. Milou de Moor had lupus and depression. She wanted euthanasia. Apparently receiving permission, the killing was called off because her GP didn’t agree, and she subsequently hanged herself. From the PZC story story (Google translation): The good news was that the euthanasia of Milou was approved by the Ethics Committee. Note the culture of death’s insidious mutation of society and culture–the killing of a 19 year-old called “good news.” Back to the story: But the doctor, who had followed Milou disease from the sidelines for three years and knew the desire for euthanasia, was to the amazement of the family phoned the University Hospital because she did not agree with it. UZ tried to convince the doctor of necessity. “Because they did not know the disease. But they remained fickle. One minute she liked it, and then not again.” Eventually, she did not come back on its decision. For the family came to the reaction of the general practitioner therefore fall completely out of the air. “They had nothing to do with euthanasia, Milou was handled in Ghent.” To avoid that this can ever happen and that the GP here just get away with the family sought advice from a medical advisor. “Who says there’s a thing in it.” The complaint drawn up with the help of a lawyer. The Medical Disciplinary Tribunal will examine the facts and determine whether they start a case against the doctor. UZ is being investigated whether this can be prevented in the future. The participation of doctors–and their considered opinion whether euthanasia should be performed–has always been touted by euthanasia as an essential protective guideline. |
| Mental Health Suffering but Marriages and Faith Thriving: Survey of Christians during Lockdown Source: Premier A survey of over 1,000 Christians has revealed how the faithful are finding lockdown. Conducted by Christian charity Agape UK and the Neighbourhood Prayer Network in order to find out what help people needed, respondents were asked about relationships, their community and health. 96 per cent of the 1,174 people asked were Christian. 90 per cent of those surveyed said their relationship with God has helped them deal with the pandemic. Lesley Cheesman, national director of Agape UK, told Premier: “Prayer had been really important to their ability to cope and to live through this time.” Although this might be hoped for among Christians, she added that some results were surprising: “One of the assumptions that I had made was that people’s relationships were under strain through the reality of being in lockdown 24/7 with their families. But actually what came out was that 86 per cent of the people who responded said that their marriage relationship or relationship with their partner had improved, and that there’d been less arguments and less irritation.” Following mental health awareness week, one of the areas of need was revealed to be emotional struggles, with 43 per cent suggesting they had more mental health issues during the lockdown. Cheesman explained that the survey was done to encourage people to act on the findings: “I think for the church to think about how to support people, in practical ways, as we come out of lockdown is going to be really important – thinking creatively about building connections with people so that they have the opportunity to talk about how they’re coping with life.” She suggested: “thinking about a person that may be isolated, that you can arrange to meet up with in the park that you might not normally arrange to meet up with. I think it gets really practical like that.” 61 per cent of respondents had done a similar thing already by helping an older neighbour during coronavirus. |
| Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) Speaks on the Possible Legalization of Euthanasia in Ukraine Source: Orthodox Life (Russian) Photo: pravlife.org Recently, journalists published a draft Concept for the reform of the Civil Code of Ukraine, which, among other things, proposes to consider the possibility of legalizing euthanasia and “assisted suicide”, that is, suicide with the help of other people. Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, commented on this: “Needless to say, suicide is the gravest sin for any Christian. In fact, any murder of a person is a terrible sin, but from the teachings of the Church we know that there is no such sin that cannot be repented. The path of repentance is closed only for those who commit suicide, because by killing oneself, one goes into eternity as an unrepentant murderer. And repentance is possible only here, in earthly life. Therefore, we cannot, but be concerned about the very possibility of legalizing suicide in a Christian country. Some may object to us and say: the Church is separated from the state, why does she interfere in worldly affairs? The Church does not interfere in worldly affairs, for the simple reason that it is only possible to interfere in something that has nothing to do with you, something extraneous. But the Church is not a foreign institution. The Church is, first of all, a society of believers who are full-fledged citizens of their state. And therefore the Church, making such remarks, thereby shows her concern for every member of her body. After all, every believer is important for the Church, for the sake of whom the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself. And if we are talking about the mentioned reform, then we cannot but feel alarmed. Indeed, this decision was made by a narrow group of people, without being discussed by the general public. And this is not the first such initiative. Many strange laws are now being adopted, such as the legalization of the use of “light drugs” formally “for medical purposes” (but we all perfectly understand how many loopholes for abuse are provided by many ill-conceived laws). Same thing is here: what abuses and lawlessness can occur with the formal legalization of “assisted suicide”? Now, when people are going through hard economic times, such projects look just defiant. |
| Metropolitan Anthony: “Division Among People is Harder to Cure than Any Virus” The division, which reigns in the hearts of Ukrainians because of the panic around the coronavirus and the return of Ukrainians from China, is much harder to heal than any virus, said Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Chancellor. “Now only one thing is important. It is to rely on God and with your balanced attitude to the situation to help all those who are responsible for it to provide all the necessary procedures for the proper reception of our citizens as effectively as possible,” the UOC Information and Education Department quotes Metropolitan Anthony’s words. “The experience of other countries shows that with the right approach everything can be solved without any serious consequences”. The hierarch of the UOC reminded that real patriotism is manifested not in beautiful slogans but in actions and deeds. He invited his compatriots to remember that the Ukrainians evacuated from Wuhan are our brothers and sisters, who now need understanding and support. “Couldn’t each of us be in their place? Is it right to use their difficult circumstances to settle political accounts? I am sure that everyone will be able to answer these questions correctly if they hear the voice of their conscience and remember what real patriotism is,” he stressed. Metropolitan Anthony urged people not to stir up their passions. “We ask everyone to remember that only by joint efforts we can successfully solve the most difficult tasks and problems. There is no need to confront and stir up passions. There is no need to manipulate and create additional lines of division in our society. There is no need for new hotbeds of conflict and turmoil,” concluded the metropolitan. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| Metropolitan Hilarion: The hard time of military conflicts makes ever more urgent our common task to search for Christians ways for stopping war Source: DECR On September 3, 2014, the 2nd International Symposium on Orthodox Spirituality began its work in the Catholic monastic community of Bose under the theme “Blessed are peacemakers”. It is attended by prominent representatives of Local Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant communities. With a blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Churches is headed by Bishop Clement of Krasnoslobodsk and Temnikov. It includes Hegumen Arseny (Sokolov), representative of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to Patriarch of Antioch, and Rev. Alexy Dikarev, Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations. The DECR chairman, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, sent the following message of greetings to the organizers and participants of the symposium: Reverend and Honourable Father Bianchi, Esteemed Organizers and Participants of the Symposium: On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, I would like to wholeheartedly greet the participants in the 22nd International Symposium on Orthodox Spirituality organized by the Monastic Community of Bose on the theme “Blessed are peacemakers”. Peacemaking belongs to the very essence of Christian message and in all times the Church of Christ has believed it to be her duty to bring to people the word of peace and love. Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, an outstanding hierarch of the Russian Church (1737-1812), said in one of his sermons: “Peace be to you! O the sweetest word! O the nicest word! O the precious union of the human race and the foundation of its wellbeing! Without it no good thing can either exist or assert itself. Where there is no peace, there is nothing good, only confusion. That is why the Church believes it necessary in all her prayers and actions”. The problem of achieving a lasting peace between religions, countries and peoples has always occupied an important place in the service of Churches and in inter-Christian dialogue. However, the hard time of military conflicts that we are experiencing in the Middle East, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries makes ever more urgent our common task to search for Christians ways for stopping war which brings enmity, death and destruction. As His Holiness Patriarch Kirill reminds us, “in an intestine strife there is no winner or political gain that can be more precious than a human life” (From the Message to the Plenitude of the Russian Orthodox Church, 17 June 2014). The supreme authority of the Russian Church is tirelessly calling for peace, mutual forgiveness and search for compromise, exerting practical efforts to help those who suffer and to establish cooperation with all people of good will who sincerely wish peace. |
| Metropolitan Onuphry: One Who’s Grateful to God Receives Even More Blessings When a person considers themselves unworthy of Divine gifts, their spiritual condition is correct. A person who humbles themselves and thanks God for what he or she already has, receives even more blessings said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine in his sermon during the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral of the Svyatogorsk Lavra on October 10, 2021, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, reports the Information and Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Speaking about the spiritual lessons of the Gospel parable about the miraculous fishing (Luke 5: 1-11), the metropolitan noted that the first thing this story teaches us is the power of faith. “One’s faith makes a person capable of containing the uncontainable. The Gospel says that the righteous by faith “quenched the violence of the fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight” (Heb. 11:34). Faith makes a person a victor over the devil and over every evil in the world. Faith makes a person capable of containing eternal life and eternal salvation,” said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. He reminded those present that there is faith of the mind and faith of the heart. “Faith of the mind is when we recognize God, but we do not live by the rules of faith, and live by our own rules. This faith is insufficient for salvation. Faith of the heart is born from the fulfillment of the Divine commandments,” the metropolitan explained. The second lesson we learn in this parable is to strive for humility. “We all live by God’s mercy, God’s power, and God’s grace. If a person correctly organizes their spiritual life, then their spiritual feats increase their humility. We must consciously say: “Lord, I am not worthy of what I have!” When a person considers themselves unworthy of Divine gifts, their spiritual condition is correct, ”said His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry. |
|
|
