Reflections

Reflection – Women Priests and Gay Marriage in the Orthodox Church

March 3, 2013

If bishops had fan clubs, I would be a charter member of the Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia fan club and I would certainly not be alone. Through his writings, lectures, interviews and travel His Grace Bishop Kallistos has enlightened and transformed our understanding of the Orthodox faith, especially in the English speaking world. For almost 40 years he was the Spalding lecturer of Eastern Orthodox studies at the preeminent Oxford University in England. Yet it is through his books that most Orthodox have encountered Timothy Ware, later Bishop Kallistos and now Metropolitan Kallistos.  (more…)

Dialogue anyone?

February 18, 2013

One of the hopes and aims of the creators and writers of this website is that meaningful discussion and dialogue might begin to occur between clergy of the Orthodox Church and faithful members of the Orthodox Church who are also lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered. We also hope that faithful members of the Orthodox Church who happen to be heterosexuals will begin to understand the predicament of LGBT Orthodox Christians and offer their vocal and moral support. (more…)

What are we teaching the children?

February 3, 2013

Although I am not one to constantly waive the American flag, I am happy and grateful to live in an advanced, relatively free country. The fact that I was born and raised in the United States is nothing more than an accident of birth. Considering the nationality of my father, I could have easily been born in Soviet Ukraine, or somewhere else behind the Iron Curtain, where my daily life, especially from the 1960’s until the fall of the Soviet Union, would have been consumed with trying to obtain the basics for simply getting by each day. Living in the Soviet Union meant standing in line for everything. As one priest serving in Soviet Ukraine explained to me, preaching against stealing and bribery were useless, because if one did not bribe or sometimes steal, one might not eat, have a roof over their head, wear shoes, or have other basic necessities of life. (more…)

New Year’s Resolutions for the Orthodox Church

January 21, 2013

For years I used to make New Year’s Resolutions. I gave myself the task of creating a list of them within a two week period. I started to think about them in earnest around January 1 and vowed to finish the list by New Year’s Day on the Julian calendar (January 14). It was then my practice to preach about making New Year’s resolutions. What I had hoped to accomplish in sharing my own resolutions was to encourage my congregation to make their own new resolves and changes.  Hopefully the resolutions that they made would lead them closer to Christ, and therefore a more fulfilling life. In Orthodox fashion, I always made three separate resolutions. (more…)

The Fear of Being Alone – The Orthodox Church and Gay Marriage

January 6, 2013

Sadly, my mother is plagued with the debilitating disease of Alzheimer’s. The illness has robbed her of many good memories. Thankfully it has also taken away many of the bad ones as well. Frequently she hallucinates and remembers things that never happened or could not have taken place. Perhaps one of the saddest consequences of her affliction is that she commonly experiences a dreadful fear of being alone and feeling afraid. No matter what I and others who care for her say or do to try and instill in her the belief that she is surrounded by people who care for her and would not abandon her, she quickly forgets this, if we are not in her immediate sight. If my mother had no family, did not have the option to get married and raise a family, she might have been left totally alone. Sadly, in my mother’s nursing home there are numerous residents who aside from the staff are all alone. Therefore, my mother’s imagined fear of being all alone might have been a realistic one had she not had the opportunity to create a family. (more…)

December 24, 2012

Dedicated to my friend, Porphyrogenitum

The holidays can be a difficult time for many people. Those who are separated from family and friends find this season emotionally difficult. People who have lost loved ones can find that putting on the holiday cheer is a cumbersome task. Christmas time can also be emotionally difficult particularly for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people. Those that have partners may not be “out” to members of their families and therefore might be forced to celebrate the holidays without their spouse. LGBT people who have never found a partner to share their life and love with, carry around a silent wound as they must endure another holiday alone.  Although they might be surrounded by family and friends, inside they feel alone.  This is especially acute during the time of year which is all about celebrating with family and loved ones. Everyone expects you to be cheery and celebratory and yet, in the words of one of my friends, “while others are feasting, I am fasting”. I understand his sentiment. (more…)

December 9, 2012

The opening of a Gay friendly mosque in Paris has made international headline news. The first inclusive mosque which welcomes LGBT people as well as offering women non-traditional roles in worship was opened on November 30, 2012. The mosque is the conception of the association of Gay Muslims in France (HM2F) – (http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/) Their unique idea combines a welcoming and safe sanctuary for Muslim LGBTQ people, as well as a place for women to freely worship inside the mosque without having to comply with the customary head coverings or sit in the “back seats”.  (more…)

November 25, 2012

The 2012 Presidential election in the United States was particularly divisive and malevolent. It has also had some tragic consequences, everything from states petitioning to succeed from the United States to at least one individual committing suicide.  The election process and subsequent re-election of the President has even caused some sad effects upon personal relationships.

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William Shakespeare wrote the following poignant and perpetually intriguing question in his play Romeo and Juliet:

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

The famous question by Juliet, who rejects the age old feud between her family and the family of her new found love, is usually interpreted as: what matters is what something is, not what it is named or called. For numerous years I have thought about this essential question. Is the essence of something more important than the name by which it is known? 

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October 28, 2012

A former student of mine was preparing for his college interview. He was given a list of possible and usual questions that the representatives of the schools were likely to ask.  Among the questions was a familiar one and so he asked me, wondering what I would say. “If you could meet anyone in the world, living or dead, who would it be? 

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