James,
Thank you for your email and support. While I think Father Hopko is an excellent priest and writer, I have significant differences with him on the issue of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. An asexual marriage is not the heterosexual norm and should not be used as a requirement for the LGBT community. While some marriages are asexual, for various reasons, that is not something that is required at all by the Church. One can find this simply by reading the service of crowning.
You may want to read my review of Father Hopko’s book, published on my website. There are also interesting comments from Archbishop Lazar.
http://www.orthodoxandgay.com/dueling-theologians-dueling-graces

If I remember correctly, what was suggested was the possibility of loving but asexual same-sex partnerships, This strikes me as a good compromise position to start a discussion from, but one that will no doubt leave most on either side of the ‘gay marriage’ issue unsatisfied. (And also one which ignores the question of what does and does not constitute ‘sexual activity’ in a relationship.)

James,

Thank you for your comment and support of this website. Your line to the priest about the Church being better at looking at ancient documents that looking at people, may be all too true. The Orthodox Church, has through the gift of the Holy Spirit, been able to keep the message of Jesus Christ alive in the beauty of His Church. It has had more difficulties dealing with the realities of life: communism, social inequality, sexuality etc.

I agree with you that there are many priests like Father Robert. If the email that this website receives is any indication, there are indeed quite a few, at least in the US and Canada. Prayers for their health are indeed warranted.

You are very lucky indeed that your priest is supportive. Can you please share the document that he sent you to?

Please stay in touch.
I bid you peace,
Andriy

My guess is that there are probably many priests like Fr. Robert whose hands are tied by official church dogma. No doubt we gay/lesbian church attenders can support them by being as open as we comfortably can and by keeping them in our prayers.

Of course this is easy for me to say since I live in a country where the Orthodox Church is quite liberal by world standards–scandalously so, to judge from some of the writings of conservative Orthodox bloggers . The priest I’ve been seeing sent me to what I know to be the most accepting Orthodox web document on homosexuality rather than any of the more strident pronouncements. And I have seen with my own eyes that no one is being denied communion simply because they have entered a same-sex civil union. I realize that not everyone who reads this blog is so fortunately located.