Same-sex ‘marriage’ in the Church of Norway

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JonNC said:
What I am saying is true protestants are Christians.
** I’ll leave the judgement of the mainstreams to others**. I am willing to say that marriage as some of them describe it lacks the Christian essence.

Jon
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We’ll provide those others, as needed.
🙂

Some might consider the last sentence in your post as understatement.
:)🙂
 
KjetilK said:
Those who follow Christian news may have heard that the synod in the Church of Norway have voted on in favour of allowing same-sex ‘marriage’ in the Church.

I am, as a priest in the Church of Norway, part of a group who seek alternative episcopal oversight (as in the Church of England), but I’m not especially optimistic. I was interviewed by three newspapers (because I am a vicar or parish priest who, alongside 200 others, have signed a petition, declaring that marriage is between one man and one woman), and I have said that if nothing happens before the new liturgy has been passed (it doesn’t yet exist), which will probably be in January 2017, I will have to resign my office and no longer remain as a member of the Church. I will probably, in that scenario, stay until the summer of 2017, for the sake of the youth in my confirmation class.

If it happens, I will have to go elsewhere. Where that is, I don’t know. I just know that some small Lutheran free church will not be an option. I’m not part of the Church of Norway specifically because it’s Lutheran but because it’s the historical Church of the Norwegian realm.

Prayers will be appreciated. Monday was a sad day indeed.

I think Wolfhart Pannenberg says it best, and I’ll give him the last word:

Those who urge the church to change the norm of its teaching on this matter must know that they are promoting schism. If a church were to let itself be pushed to the point where it ceased to treat homosexual activity as a departure from the biblical norm, and recognized homosexual unions as a personal partnership of love equivalent to marriage, such a church would stand no longer on biblical ground but against the unequivocal witness of Scripture. A church that took this step would cease to be the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
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I am so sorry - this is NOT what our Lord wants. We are living in dangerous days as Christians and must stand together. (expect persecution…sadly) Have you considered coming into the Catholic Church? (I am a convert from the Lutheran Church to the Catholic Church…both my husband and I due partly to this change in our ELCA Lutheran Church as well) We would welcome you with open arms. In the meantime…you have my prayers!
mlz
 
Thorolfr said:
I’m surprised that the Church of Norway hadn’t done this sooner.
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I can understand why you would say that as the ELCA has done so before them. Many in the ELCA came from the Church of Norway. This was part of what led me OUT of the ELCA Church into the Catholic Church.

mlz
 
Sy_Noe said:
With all due respect, and I’m sure you are aware, as part of the decision, bishops and other church officials were granted the right to refuse to officiate homosexual marriages. Priests who do not want to celebrate a marriage between a same-sex couple will still have the right to object. So it’s clear you have the option to remain and not perform legal marriages between 2 of God’s children whose orientation and natural attraction happens to be towards a partner of the same gender.

thelocal.no/20160411/norway-gay-marriage-church-weddings

reuters.com/article/us-norway-gaymarriage-idUSKCN0X81EW

But if you still believe you must go and you obviously do, then of course you will have to do what you believe you have to do. And my prayers and peace to you along your way.
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Oh yes, this is what I was told as an ELCA Lutheran, but time will show that eventually those who desire to be married and are same sex will soon DEMAND that they been treated “fairly” and all this “you don’t HAVE to marry them” will come to an end…I’m sure of that. (if it hasn’t already)
mlz
 
anon67074017 said:
Of course it is. They actually follow the Biblical definition of marriage unlike the progressive Church of Norway.
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Yes, but the context of your initial response was that the Church of Norway had broken off from Rome. But the Russian Orthodox Church does the same and, apart from its stance on same sex ‘marriage,’ it has a pretty liberal view of sexuality. They allow you to remarry - in the Church - three times even if your former spouse(s) is/are still living, and even if your former marriage(s) was/were (or rather is(are) valid.
 
In theory maybe, in practice it’s much more difficult to do this than in any protestant body
 
SyroMalankara said:
Are there many thrice ecclesially married Norwegians that you are familiar with?
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I know one Orthodox man who has been married three times in the Church, and two more times at the court house. Neither of his spouses are dead.
 
KjetilK said:
Yes, but the context of your initial response was that the Church of Norway had broken off from Rome. But the Russian Orthodox Church does the same and, apart from its stance on same sex ‘marriage,’ it has a pretty liberal view of sexuality. They allow you to remarry - in the Church - three times even if your former spouse(s) is/are still living, and even if your former marriage(s) was/were (or rather is(are) valid.
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Aside from marriage up to three times, what is liberal about Russian Orthodoxy’s view on sexuality?
 
KjetilK said:
I know one Orthodox man who has been married three times in the Church, and two more times at the court house. Neither of his spouses are dead.
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Maybe this guy is something special, very rich, or he is very good at getting his wives to become monastic nuns
 
Father K, it is my privilege to pray for you and your flock.

In the US - there are many pastors that proclaim the true Gospel in the ELCA and they remain there precicly because their individual church is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Even if the rest of the synod or church goes nuts - they know they are pointing to Christ and Him Crucified.

Here’s a good example of such a church - most of these churches tend to be rather high-church (not a coincidence, I’m sure)

flcws.org
 
I find it very interesting that if a ‘Protestant’ does something bad, he is a liberal, yet when the Orthodox does the same, somehow they are not.
 
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