Yesterday, Thursday, February 8, an extraordinary double Holy Synod, on the occasion of the adoption of the bill on marriage and childbearing for LGBTQ+ couples. A statement was published expressing complete disagreement with him, it is emphasized that “This is an obscene attack on human nature.”
The meeting took place in the presence of 40 saints and representatives of the Holy Monasteries of Mount Athos. The corresponding statement clearly expresses opposition to the bill as it states: “This is a great crime. This is a great crime, this is an insult to human nature, because, in essence, it stops normal development and unknowingly destroys man.” It also says: “If a newborn turns his gaze to his mother and wants to kiss her breast, and someone else appears in her place, it is confusing, it is deforming, it is disgraceful.”
Full text of the statement:
“On the occasion of the presentation of the bill “Equality in civil marriage”, 40 abbots and representatives of the holy monasteries of Mount Athos gathered in Karyes today 8.2.2024, and due to the great and special seriousness of the issue, they decided to address this message to every well-intentioned person, to support the suffering and the Church’s struggle to protect the basis of human life.
Legislation, as the bill states, in an effort to protect the principle of equality through same-sex “marriage” and even protection from discrimination, violates the fundamental principles of human existence and kills the possibility of life and normal development of a child. It is not the human family that is dismantled, but the entire human existence.
How does life really work? Each of us comes from a mother and a father, according to Christ’s answer: “Do you not know that he who created them from the beginning created them?” (Matt. 9:4).
The institution of “marriage” between persons of the same sex is a subversion of Christian marriage and the institution of family; it is rejected by the entire church tradition and is treated by repentance, that is, a change in lifestyle.
In addition, the fetus is gestated for nine months and is born. The human newborn is the weakest creation. He can’t do anything. If the mother does not take care of him, if she does not feed him, he will die… God places the responsibility on those who gave birth to him, so that they cooperate in his formation and thus become co-creators with God.
If, by chance, a newborn turns his gaze to his mother and wants to kiss her breast, and someone else appears in her place, he confuses the information, he is deformed, he is disgraced.
The duty of respect for a new being requires sacrifice so that it can develop normally, so that it can enjoy life. There is no other way for a person to unite and develop.
After nine months, he is born into a larger womb, which is a family environment, and another human creation is born into the family – a child. He knows his mother as a woman who feeds him with her milk and takes care of him. He knows his father as a man who loves him and cares for him in his own way. From the mutual respect of his father and mother, he receives spiritual and physical strength to move to the second phase, which passes into childhood, into adolescence, moves freely into society and accepts the upbringing of his culture and place.
God creates man to live and not die; did not die neither in the womb of the mother, nor in the womb of childhood, nor in the womb of history. He participates in the miracle of life to live and be taken up into eternal life. And this, by the grace of the Spirit, is accomplished by the Church, through which “the whole universe was created and is being created.”
And this is the last womb that shapes a person and prepares him for birth in the space of a new state, in the “tents” of the beloved and longed-for freedom of the next century. This is the purpose and reason why God created the world and man.
Those who were liberated and born outside the womb of history, that is, into the grace of eternal life, exist, pray and hold us all in life, are the polar star towards which humanity is directed.
An attempt at arrogance, in the original sense of the word, is a denial of human existence, a corrosion of the foundation of the edifice of humanity. It is not only the Gospel and Greek society that are affected. The universe is denied. Whether you are a believer or an unbeliever, you are born the same. By changing this, you are actually deciding on the slow but certain death of humanity. By entering into a church marriage, a man and woman receive the blessing of the church, the blessing of polygamy and celibacy.
The true nature of marriage is clearly revealed by the presence of Christ at the wedding in Cana, for “this is a great mystery, in Christ and in the Church,” according to the Apostle Paul. This “marriage” being promoted today leads to a dead end. Creatures prepare, get wounded, maim. Respect human nature.
That which is born from the mother’s womb, regardless of race, language or creed, needs to suckle its mother. These thoughts are not a figment of the imagination, they are based on Scripture and the Apostles, on tradition and the decisions of the fathers, who established the conditions for the Orthodox faith and the sacred rules defining the boundaries within which all its members must act.
This is especially clearly expressed by the Apostle Paul when he decisively emphasizes: “Or do you not see that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? 6:9-10).
At the same time, the Church continues its mission of shepherding and healing so that all believers can live in communion with Christ and their brothers and sisters, distinguished by selfless love and mercy.
God loves us all, just and unjust, saints and sinners. This is exactly what the Church does, without excluding anyone, as can be seen throughout the entire history of church life and human weaknesses. Love reigns. It’s a shame for those who issue such bills and consider such a development of events to be natural.
We encourage and praise those who choose the voice of conscience rather than party discipline, and we support them in their struggle. However, there is a health of human body life that eliminates all those elements that try to change the true existence of man. There is one who controls everything. The one who created the world and man to live in eternity and exist, the one who exists and protects us, is presented as weak and non-existent. This is what all those who want to change their lives will face.
What they may not realize is that all this haste and insistence on passing legislation shows weakness and is harmful to the very people they are supposed to protect. It is only out of respect for these people that we express and persistently emphasize the principles of life.
This is a big crime. They do not respect human nature because they essentially stop normal development and unknowingly destroy a person. But there is one who created everything out of love and wisdom, overcomes our weaknesses and brings everything to a good end.
All representatives and abbots of the twenty holy and blessed monasteries of Mount Athos in the extraordinary double Synod.”
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