Greek Orthodox response to Supreme Court ruling re: DOMA

[ConstantineTG]

I found this a friend’s Facebook post:

denver.goarch.org/protocols/2013-Protocols/protocol-13-09.pdf

Some excerpts:

These simple realities are clear to us. It is our Lord Himself Who commands
that we “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the
things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). We are to respect civil authority and to
abide by the laws of our land.
It is the Apostle Paul who expands this command of the Savior and who
prescribes our proper and healthy relationship with civil authority in saying, “I
exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be
made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet
and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable
in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America
(representing all canonical Orthodox Hierarchs and Jurisdictions in our region)
officially stated the following on May 16, 2012: “Recently, the public discussion
about marriage and about the propriety of its redefinition has once again become
prominent. It is a discussion that is certain to continue for a long time yet. In light
of this, the Assembly reaffirms the ancient and unchanging teaching of the Church
and invites the faithful to read the important statement below, issued by SCOBA in
2003 and as relevant and binding today as when first published.”

The Orthodox Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality, firmly
grounded in Holy Scripture, 2000 years of church tradition, and canon law,
holds that marriage consists in the conjugal union of a man and a woman,
and that authentic marriage is blessed by God as a sacrament of the Church.
Neither Scripture nor Holy Tradition blesses or sanctions such a union
between persons of the same sex

Nothing has changed. In harmony with my brother hierarchs, I express my
complete agreement with these statements and I direct the clergy of this Metropolis
to teach the faithful accordingly, always in a pastorally-sensitive manner.
Let us live our Orthodox faith with devotion and piety. Let us continue to
follow our ancient teachings and traditions without change. Let us be at peace,
praying “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
reverence.” Truly, the Holy Spirit presides over the Church, even to the end of the
age when our Lord returns in glory.

 

[rfournier103]

I think this letter speaks for itself.

 

[losh14]

Agreed. To the faithful, abide the laws of the Lord first and foremost, and abide those of the government to live peacefully.

 

[TarkanAttila]

Good answer, GOC.

I hope they will stand with Catholics and Protestants in this fight, and, as I do, remember and teach others the roots of this insanity is not in gays and homosexuals, but in problems that go back decades - maybe even centuries - before today.

If we understand the past, we have the key to understanding the present, and changing the future.

It began with kings and emperors trodding on the head of the Church, the Pope and the bishops, particularly Henry VIII and his desire to divorce because he thought the problem was with his seven wives. And with Protestantism’s help, we have gained a behemoth of a problem - the oppression of Church by State, of God’s mind by man’s, and the setting aside of God’s ways for man’s.

The only solution is to turn back to right reason, to history, to Tradition, and to obey God in the only Church that all these testify to - the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church (which, as I see it, and as the Catechism does, includes the Orthodox).