By Fr. Shenork Souin
On February 11, 2000, the federal Justice Minister, Anne McLellan introduced Bill C-23, an Act to modernize the Statutes of Canada in relation to benefits and obligations, omnibus legislation which would amend 68 federal laws in order to extend to same-sex couples most of the rights and benefits currently given to common-law and married couples. If passed, homosexual and lesbian relationships will be equated with married couples under federal law.
In light of the possible reversal of a traditional understanding of marriage for all Canadians and it's concomitant ramifications, the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church-Canadian Diocese, comprised of 60,000 Canadian citizens, must, for good conscience and for the benefit of her children who look to her for spiritual and moral guidance in matters of faith and morality, articulate her position regarding human sexuality and marriage, without regard to the definition that civil law might describe.
Before specifically addressing the issue of sexuality and marriage, we desire to make perfectly clear how the Armenian Church articulates, demonstrates and transmits her faith throughout all time, and in all places, without regard for the particularities and "timeliness" of the issues she addresses.
To see how the church transmits her faith, one must first know what the Church is and to whom she belongs. Clearly, as the "Bride of Christ," and thus His mystical Body, anything she says and does must be firmly grounded in His Person, Work and Word, always looking to Him as the Head, the Lord and the Master. She must therefore, by definition, be a faithful bride, subject to Him in all things. The Church is thus One Body and is visibly seen in her unity, which is known by her confessional catholicity. Any "group", by contrast, that is unfaithful to Christ, not subject to His Word, is Anathema, condemned and outside the "catholic" church through her own infidelity, her own fault her own most grievous fault.
With this in mind, and in order to avoid any misunderstanding, the Armenian Church is an Apostolic and Orthodox Church. She is a member of the "One Holy Apostolic Catholic Church". Being founded by and in Christ, her primary and fundamental dogmas, and doctrines are canonized and sanctified by the divine guidance of Her Holy Tradition. Her Holy Tradition is nothing less than the life and footprints of the Holy Spirit in the Church, which must remain and always do remain faithful to Christ and the "teaching of the Apostles". For this reason, while the evolution of how she articulates doctrines may be improved, formalized or developed with creeds and canons, the Armenian Church has not and will not withdraw nor change that which was once and for all established and received, regardless of times, seasons and laws, in the realm of Theology, Christology or ethics.
We believe that the teaching of the church on the subject of human sexuality, homosexuality and marriage are so abundantly clear that we do not feel the need to go into great detail.
The Armenian Church's view of homosexuality, along with sexuality in general, is articulated in the rubric of Christian Anthropology which has always sprung from a profound understanding of mankind as being created in the image and likeness of God and recreated by the Incarnation of God in Christ. From this profound reality, furthermore, we also hold to an extremely exalted view of the sanctity of life since, as St. Athanasius taught that, "God became man so that man might become like God." These values and teachings are eternal and changeless. They give stability to our ethos as Orthodox Christians.
On the matter of homosexuality, in particular, a leading Orthodox ethicist, Rev. Fr. Stanley Harakas states that "The church teaches that human sexuality is a divinely given dimension of human life that finds its fulfillment in the marital relationship." For this reason therefore the church has said and continually says that "premarital sexual relations between unmarried persons are sinful and as such are labeled fornication." This means that not only homosexuality but heterosexuality also, practiced outside the sanctity of the "marital embrace", is, without repentance, sin and punishable according to God's command. Yes, homosexuality is sin and the one who is a practicing homosexual is by that definition a sinner. To seek good standing and Communion in the church, the homosexual along with any sinner, MUST repent, turn away from that life style and remain celibate. Does this mean that the church disapproves of homosexuals? The words "disapprove" and "hate" are often confused and the label "homophobia" is used for those who view homosexuality as sin according to God's Word. This label is completely unfair as applied to the church or confessing Christians. As God hates the sin but loves the sinner, so too does the church, with the "mind of Christ", out of a profound and irrational sense of love for the "lost", continually call sinners to repentance. Of these, homosexuals are not alone. As St. John says, "whoever says that he is without sin is a liar and the truth is not in him". All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, the adulterers, the fornicators, the murderers, the gluttons, the proud, the envious, the angry, the hateful, the greedy, the slothful...in a word all who have sinned.
The Church does not excuse sin, as the world is apt to do. For the world, what was sin yesterday is seen today as an "alternative lifestyle". This is the way of the world, against which the Church always struggles and for which she is persecuted. Through her call to repentance and her desire to absolve and release sinners, she is acting contrary to this world's mindset.
Her role therefore, in view of sin, is to accuse it and ready to forgive the one who turns to Christ in repentance. Therefore, in answering the question, she disapproves of homosexuality but continually calls a homosexual to her embrace in repentance. She is not homophobic but philanthropic desiring to bring all to the glory of Christ in the fellowship of His Church, through the forgiveness of sins.
In the matter of adoption, in the view of the Armenian Church, children are the fruit of marriage, the gift of God, which is a sign of His continually creative love. Adoption for the church is therefore, only possible for married couples, husbands and wives to whom the divinely instituted stewardship of parenthood is given and sanctified. Having said this therefore, it should be already obvious that she does not approve or even look to the possibility of marriage or adoption for homosexual "couples." Anyone who, by civil authority or in accordance to "man-made" laws which may be contrary to the law of God, seeks either marriage in a homosexual relation and or adopts children in such a relationship is by their own action outside the grace of the holy Church and may not seek nor expect any sacrament, blessing, or acknowledgement from or in the Armenian Church.
May God grant wisdom to our policy makers, may He protect His Church from the snares of the evil one and may He guide us in the tradition of His Holy Church and to Him be glory now and always and unto the ages of ages, Amen.
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PS: Fr. Shenork's web page has extremely interesting content. Lots of links and articles. Worthy reading!
