How can Catholic and Orthodox views differ on Contraception?

[PennitentMan]

Hello y’all.

I’ve been doing some more reading and I thought I’d ask you all about this. Maybe some of our Orthodox brothers and sisters can help explain?

If even Roman Catholics view the Eastern Orthodox faith as part of the True Faith, having the Real Presence, and acknowledging apostolic succession, and so on, how come they could change their stance on contraception?

From Wikipedia:

Background
Until about 1970, the Eastern Orthodox Church generally opposed the use of contraception. Since that time a “new consensus” has emerged.

Current view
This new view holds that contraception is acceptable within a Christian marriage if 1), the means of contraception is not abortifacient, 2) it is used with the blessing of one’s spiritual father and 3), children are not completely excluded from the marriage.

Thanks for helping!

 

[whatevergirl]

Hello y’all.

I’ve been doing some more reading and I thought I’d ask you all about this. Maybe some of our Orthodox brothers and sisters can help explain?

If even Roman Catholics view the Eastern Orthodox faith as part of the True Faith, having the Real Presence, and acknowledging apostolic succession, and so on, how come they could change their stance on contraception?

From Wikipedia:

Thanks for helping!

Hi PM!
It looks like the views are the same as ours, as long as they are not used to stifle life. I took bc pills for a time, utilizing them strictly for hormonal use. Perhaps abortificant is meaning contracpetion – because far more people take the pill every day, then the ‘morning after’ pill. (which would abort the baby) They can’t mean that people should only not take the morning after pill??

 

[PennitentMan]

Hi PM!
It looks like the views are the same as ours, as long as they are not used to stifle life. I took bc pills for a time, utilizing them strictly for hormonal use. Perhaps abortificant is meaning contracpetion – because far more people take the pill every day, then the ‘morning after’ pill. (which would abort the baby) They can’t mean that people should only not take the morning after pill??

Hello WG!

Their stance is that the faithful can use contraception as artificial birth control, as long as the method being used is not abortive.

It’s slightly different from using ABC for medicinal purposes.

That’s what I understand…

 

[whatevergirl]

Hello WG!

Their stance is that the faithful can use contraception as artificial birth control, as long as the method being used is not abortive.

It’s slightly different from using ABC for medicinal purposes.

That’s what I understand…

aaahhh! Ok…sorry. So, they can use artifical bc, but not the morning after pill, as an example. Interesting. How can that be?

 

[whatevergirl]

What are their thoughts on the marital embrace…do they believe in completing the sex act in the same light as we do?

 

[PennitentMan]

aaahhh! Ok…sorry. So, they can use artifical bc, but not the morning after pill, as an example. Interesting. How can that be?

My thoughts exactly.

I can understand if it was a Protestant denomination that says that, but if the R.C. recognises them, why can they change their doctrine? Are they not also inspried by the Spirit?

Very confusing!

 

[PennitentMan]

What are their thoughts on the marital embrace…do they believe in completing the sex act in the same light as we do?

I honestly don’t know, that’s why I was hoping for some Orthodox insight into this, but it does seem like they do treat it as sacred.

 

[kage_ar]

The Orthodox split away from the Catholic Church hundreds of years ago.

They ARE separated from the Catholic Church. Remeber, there is a difference between the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches.

You might check out an Orthodox discussion board…

 

[tomarin]

Hello y’all.

I’ve been doing some more reading and I thought I’d ask you all about this. Maybe some of our Orthodox brothers and sisters can help explain?

If even Roman Catholics view the Eastern Orthodox faith as part of the True Faith, having the Real Presence, and acknowledging apostolic succession, and so on, how come they could change their stance on contraception?

From Wikipedia:

Thanks for helping!

because they’re not in communion with rome and therefore no one would expect them to follow the catholic churhc’s teaching on birth control. perhaps you’re thinking of the eastern rite catholics? their liturgy and theology is eastern but they are in communion with rome, and therefore would follow the church’s teaching on birth control.

 

[PennitentMan]

Thanks for clearing that up!

The websites I was reading was not making the distinction very clear.

 

[Good_Daughter]

Hello y’all.

I’ve been doing some more reading and I thought I’d ask you all about this. Maybe some of our Orthodox brothers and sisters can help explain?

If even Roman Catholics view the Eastern Orthodox faith as part of the True Faith, having the Real Presence, and acknowledging apostolic succession, and so on, how come they could change their stance on contraception?

From Wikipedia:

Thanks for helping!

I’m sure you’d get even more responses if you were to post this question in the Non-Catholic Religions forum. I know I’d be interested in hearing more on the subject. I was following an interesting Catholic/Orthodox conversation on contraception in the old Orthodox forum when it was suddenly closed. I was hoping someone would get the discussion going again!

 

[jemfinch]

I can understand if it was a Protestant denomination that says that, but if the R.C. recognises them, why can they change their doctrine? Are they not also inspried by the Spirit?

The Church recognizes their genuine sacraments and their genuine apostolic succession, but that doesn’t mean that it recognizes their authority to act as members of the magisterium of the Church. In fact, quite the opposite: it is the pope and the bishops in union with him that act as the speaking voice of the Church. That idea specifically excludes the valid, but schismatic bishops of the Orthodox Churches.

Jeremy

 

[Sagefrakrobatik]

ORTHODOXY RULES!!!

 

[Marsha_Adams]

Since the Orthodox broke from the Church they also broke from the Teaching Authority contained within the Church. Once that happened, error was bound to creep in.

 

[Filius99993]

Since the Orthodox broke from the Church they also broke from the Teaching Authority contained within the Church. Once that happened, error was bound to creep in.

Thank you

 

[Magicsilence]

Hello y’all.

I’ve been doing some more reading and I thought I’d ask you all about this. Maybe some of our Orthodox brothers and sisters can help explain?

If even Roman Catholics view the Eastern Orthodox faith as part of the True Faith, having the Real Presence, and acknowledging apostolic succession, and so on, how come they could change their stance on contraception?

From Wikipedia:

Thanks for helping!

As others have noted, there is a difference between the Eastern Catholic Churches, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Those known as Catholic are in union with the pope. Those known as Orthodox are not, although liturgical practice, and theology tend to be closely entwined between the respective Churches (i.e Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics).

The Orthodox position on contraception has not been entirely defined. In the year 2000, the Russian Synod issued a document detailing that the use of contraception was, with reservations, allowed (though interpretation differs). However, many other Orthodox are not sure what to make of the document, and belief on the subject falls on both side of the fence within different Orthodox Churches (that make up the Eastern Orthodox communion - such as Greek, Romanian etc…).

You can view one Orthodox argument against contraception here.

The official quote was:

XII. 3. Among the problems which need a religious and moral assessment is that of contraception. Some contraceptives have an abortive effect, interrupting artificially the life of the embryo on the very first stages of his life. Therefore, the same judgements are applicable to the use of them as to abortion. But other means, which do not involve interrupting an already conceived life, cannot be equated with abortion in the least. In defining their attitude to the non-abortive contraceptives, Christian spouses should remember that human reproduction is one of the principal purposes of the divinely established marital union (see, X. 4). The deliberate refusal of childbirth on egoistic grounds devalues marriage and is a definite sin.

Source

In essence, the Orthodox Church is opposed to any sort of devaluation (of the marital act) that can occur through the use of contraception, but it is allowed, with permission from a priest, or spiritual father.

In contrast, the Catholic Church condemns all artificial birth control as being intrinsically evil, and this applies to all Eastern Catholics Churches.

Some Orthodox go further than this, and condemn both artificial birth control, and NFP, citing abstinence to be the only morally acceptable method to space children.

This lack of clarity is a product of Orthodox ecclesiology. If you would like to discuss the subject more, a thread in the non-catholic religions forum would garner more attention.

In Jesus Christ,

p.s For further confusion, see this old thread (its cached because CAF have hidden the old forum it was in, make sure you scroll down to the first post by FrAmbrose).