Church of Greece Protts Baptism of Children of Gay Couple

Contents:

• FIRST GREEK ORTHODOX BAPTISM FOR CHILD OF GAY COUPLE GREECE
• ODD BEDFELLOWS: AN ORTHODOX GREEK PRELATE & A GAY RIGHTS CHAMPN
• THE ORTHODOX CHURCH’S ROLE RSIA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS
• CHURCH OF GREECE PROTTS BAPTISM OF CHILDREN OF GAY COUPLE
• “FIRST OPENLY GAY BAPTISM THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH”
• THE GAY ORTHODOX UNRGROUND
• METROPOLAN OF GLYFADA CLAIMS HE WAS UNAWARE OF GAY BAPTISM
• ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS WHO STRONGLY FAVOR OR FAVOR GAY MARRIAGE
• CAN YOU BE GAY AND ORTHODOX, ‘SNER’?

FIRST GREEK ORTHODOX BAPTISM FOR CHILD OF GAY COUPLE GREECE

For example, the Greek Orthodox Archdce lists homosexualy bi fornitn, adultery, abortn and abive sexual behavr as “immoral and appropriate forms of behavr and of themselv, and also bee they attack the stutn of marriage and the fay.

” Siarly, the Assembly of Canonil Orthodox Bishops of the Uned Stat, clar, “Like adultery and fornitn, homosexual acts are nmned by Scripture. Perhaps you know that, acrdg to tradnal Orthodox teachg, homosexual activy is a s like adultery, fornitn, and other acts of sexual impury. Confsn and fivens is available to those who stggle to rist s, but the tentn to ntue the practice of homosexualy would ed impe membership the Orthodox Church.

A repentant, stgglg homosexual who reas om homosexual acts n be received to the church after the ual urse of stctn, but he or she would do bt to keep this matter the nfsnal, jt as is mon wh every other s. It’s not jt homosexualy; the Orthodox Church oppos today’s cultural permissivens the area of sexualy generally, pecially wh regard to habatn, promiscuy, and var forms of eroticism. Homosexualy is regard as ntrary to God’s revealed purpose his creatn of genr and marriage (Genis 1-2), a posn clearly affirmed by Christ (Mark 10:6-9).

ODD BEDFELLOWS: AN ORTHODOX GREEK PRELATE & A GAY RIGHTS CHAMPN

(RNS) — Earlier this month, a storm — unwarranted, malevolent — brewed up after Archbishop Elpidophoros, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church of Ameri, vised Greece and while there baptized two children brought to the world through surrogacy to be raised by a gay uple. Once asked whether there were any gay Orthodox, he allegedly replied that, if “sodom” exist the church, “we mt distance such sick people om others. Evanggelos Bois and Peter Dundas, both of Greek scent, beme the first gay uple to hold a Greek Orthodox Baptism for their children Greece on Saturday.

BACK 2017, ahead of Atralia’s plebisce to legalise gay marriage, the Greek Orthodox Church spent a great al of time and money opposg same-sex unns. The first tentn is for this webse to be a place of support and refuge for Orthodox Christians who are gay – for to tell our stori about beg Orthodox and gay. The send aim is to offer an opportuny for nstctive cricism and ments on the official and not so official stanc of the Orthodox Church and Orthodox Christians on homosexualy.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH’S ROLE RSIA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS

There are two ma guidg prcipl of this webse:One: The Orthodox Church is the Bri of Beg gay is a gift of God, the Creator. Orthodox Christians who are gay have been serly maligned and hurt by antiquated terpretatns of Scripture and non law.

Numero bishops and prits, “pastors” of the Church, have done ser spirual damage to a great number of gay Orthodox Christians cludg members of the clergy.

By exprsg our stori, Orthodox Christians who are gay have the opportuny to hopefully one day change the official posn of the Church on issu such as sexual orientatn and gay marriage. Some of them hold that their sexual orientatn is given by God, that is good, and that there is nothg wrong or sful wh their homosexual activi. The persons say that the Bible and Church Tradn do not nmn homosexual behavur, but have been misterpreted and mised, sometim unknowgly and other tim que willfully, by prejudiced and hostile people who hate homosexuals.

CHURCH OF GREECE PROTTS BAPTISM OF CHILDREN OF GAY COUPLE

Other homosexual Christians hold that their sexual orientatn is not om God – except provintially, sce the Lord’s plan evably volv human eedom and s but riv om human flt. The people hold that they are lled by God to stggle agast their homosexual tennci as all people are lled to stggle agast the sful passns which they fd wh themselv, while they work to heal the of their disorientatn and disease. Given the tradnal Orthodox unrstandg of the Old and New Ttament scriptur as exprsed the Church’s lurgil worship, sacramental r, nonil regulatns and liv and teachgs of the sats, is clear that the Orthodox Church intifi solidly wh those Christians, homosexual and heterosexual, who nsir homosexual orientatn as a disorr and disease, and who therefore nsir homosexual actns as sful and stctive.

Do not be ceived; neher the sexually immoral (or fornitors), nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals (or sodom; lerally those who have , or who sleep, wh men), nor thiev, nor the greedy, nor dnkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will her the kgdom of God. It is not ma any easier by the mdls, tly monic hatred of those who spise and ridicule those who rry this paful and burnsome cross; nor by the mdls, equally monic affirmatn of homosexual activy by s misguid advot and enablers. Like all temptatns, passns and ss, cludg those eply, and oftentim seemgly libly embedd our nature by our sorrowful herance, homosexual orientatn n be cured and homosexual actns n cease.

When homosexual Christians are willg to stggle, and when they receive patient, passnate and thentilly lovg assistance om their fai and iends – each of whom is stgglg wh his or her own temptatns and ss; for no one is whout this stggle one form or another, and no one is whout s but God – the Lord guarante victory ways known to Himself. The mosque is the nceptn of the associatn of Gay Mlims France (HM2F) – () Their unique ia b a welg and safe sanctuary for Mlim LGBTQ people, as well as a place for women to eely worship si the mosque whout havg to ply wh the ctomary head vergs or s the “back seats”. The founr of the group stated that “many Mlims feel trated wh the nservative and tolerant views exprsed mosqu towards women, marriage issu, or homophobic abe.

“FIRST OPENLY GAY BAPTISM THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH”

This webse receiv numero emails and ntacts om LGBTQ Orthodox people who are seekg to nsult wh a passnate and unrstandg Orthodox prit, or have their same-sex unns blsed by an Orthodox prit or even people lookg for a gay iendly Orthodox parish.

What this monstrat to me is that there are Orthodox fahful who are gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenred, or qutng their sexual orientatn, who sire to be full members of the Church whout nyg who God ma them to be, or rejectg their God given sire to love and be loved by someone of the same genr.

THE GAY ORTHODOX UNRGROUND

While I unrstand and support the gay Mlim muny France, their motiv and achievements, creatg a separate Orthodox parish or groups of church that would serve the LGBTQ muny is not somethg that I would enurage or support. Once the prit found out that this man was gay and a mted relatnship, the prit not only told the man never to e back to the church, but that he would publilly nounce the man if he ever dared to approach the chalice. Frequently I hear stori like this om other LGBTQ Orthodox Christians and I thk for a moment that maybe we do need a Gay iendly Orthodox Church.

And the vast majory of Orthodox Christians say homosexualy should be disuraged by society, though those Greece and the U.

The vast majory of Orthodox Christians across Eastern Europe say homosexualy should not be accepted by society. Overall, Orthodox Christians former Soviet republics are ls acceptg of homosexualy than are those elsewhere Eastern Europe.

METROPOLAN OF GLYFADA CLAIMS HE WAS UNAWARE OF GAY BAPTISM

Fully half of Orthodox Christians Greece say society should accept homosexualy, as do a clear majory (62%) of Orthodox Christians the Uned Stat. Even Greece, where half of Orthodox Christians say society should accept homosexualy, only a quarter (25%) say gay and lbian upl should be able to marry legally. There, Orthodox Christians are more acceptg of the practice; more than half (54% as of 2014) favor allowg gay and lbian upl to marry legally, almost mirrorg the share of Amerin adults overall who took this posn 2014 (53%).

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS WHO STRONGLY FAVOR OR FAVOR GAY MARRIAGE

Compared wh homosexualy, there is ls of a nsens among Orthodox Christians about whether abortn should be legal. As is te for homosexualy and same-sex marriage, Orthodox Christians former Soviet republics are somewhat more nservative on the legaly of abortn than are other Orthodox Christians Eastern Europe. While more recent surveys did not ask Orthodox Ethpians about homosexualy, same-sex marriage or abortn, a 2008 Pew Rearch Center survey did ask this group about the moraly of “homosexual behavr, ” of “havg an abortn, ” and other behavrs.

In 2008, nearly all Orthodox Christians Ethpia (95%) said “homosexual behavr” is morally wrong, while the vast majory (83%) also said this about havg an abortn.

Orthodox Christians Ethpia are more likely than those most Eastern European untri to raise moral objectns to several of the behavrs, although Orthodox Christians Eastern Europe – both former Soviet republics and elsewhere – also wily see homosexual behavr and prostutn as morally wrong. Though the unjt treatment of gays and lbians is all too mon our world, don’t often make ternatnal headl.

CAN YOU BE GAY AND ORTHODOX, ‘SNER’?

But the upg 2014 Wter Olympic gam Sochi, Rsia, has st a spotlight on a strg of anti-gays laws passed the last month by Vladimir Put. On July 3, Put signed a law banng the adoptn of Rsian-born children by gay upl as well as all upl or sgle parents livg untri where marriage equaly exists. The law will impose sizable f for holdg gay pri ralli or providg rmatn to mors about the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny.

Includ that law is a provisn that allows police officers to arrt and ta (up to two weeks) any foreign natnals or tourists whom they spect to be gay, lbian, or “pro-gay. Media reports suggt that Put may sign an edict that would allow police to remove the children of gay or lbian parents.

Though Rsia crimalized homosexualy jt after the fall of munism 1993, anti-gay sentiments have been on the rise the untry the past few years. Put’s mpaign agast lbian, gay and bisexual people is one of distractn, a strategy of monizg a mory for polil ga...