Lutheran Ping!
Be rooted in Christ!
Posted on 09/20/2012 4:58:09 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
The Russian Orthodox Church has said it no longer accepts baptisms carried out by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark, according to Kristeligt Dagblad.
The announcement from the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate in Moscow comes as a reaction to the introduction by the Danish church of marriages between homosexuals.
“We do not officially recognise Danish or Swedish baptism,” says Archpriest Dimitry Sizonenko, the Patriarchate’s secretary for inter-Christian relations. “The practice whereby someone is accepted without being re-baptised will be impossible for us, as homosexual relationships are a sin in Orthodox theology,” he adds.
The move will only affect those members of the Danish Lutheran Church who seek to convert to the Russian Orthodox Church, or want to marry in the church. For these, the new rule will mean re-baptism.
While the move may only have limited application, its symbolic effect is seen as being a major step backwards in religious circles.
“Previously (Christian) churches could at least agree that there was one baptism. If you cannot agree that a baptism is the entrance to the Christian church, there is not much left of ecumenical cooperation,” says Southern Denmark University Religious Studies Ass. Prof. Annika Hvithmar.
It is not the first time that the Russian Orthodox Church has displayed an intransigent view on homosexuality.
In 2006, the church broke all relations with the Swedish Church when a blessing ritual for registered partnerships was introduced.
“We normally have a strong and good relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church – so representatives for the Danish Lutheran Church will have to discuss the issue with Sizonenko or other senior representatives before I will recognise a total breakdown (in relations),” says Dean Anders Gadegard, the Danish church’s representative in the World Council of Churches.
Be rooted in Christ!
O heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth
who are in all places and fillest all things:
Treasury of good things and Giver of life:
Come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every stain,
and save our souls, O good One.
It could be very much a sign that as talks of the Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church continue on, with in time as God wills and provides, a pathway towards full unity, look for more such efforts to take place to not accept the baptisms of certain churches.
The Russian church is 100% correct to take that position.
Wasn’t that Kierkegaard’s Church?
Next Obama term an Eastern Orthodox church will be legally forced to accept such baptisms
Will not happen.
Of course Trinitarian baptism is supposed to be the one great ecumenically acknowledged sacrament among us different separated brethren, but I can sympathize with the Russian Orthodox here in the face of the hypermodernist Protestants of the West who are ditching traditional Christian moral and other teachings as fast as they can to adapt to the Zeitgeist...
Good for them. Some church should actually stand up for the Word.
The Christian faith is premised that Jesus,the only-Begotten Son of the Father, the eternal Word became flesh and taught with authority.
He has said: “but from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
To reject this clear teaching of scripture is to reject the One who taught it.
Luther says that without the Word the water is nothing but common water.
Those who deny the Word are not being “re-baptized”; for they were never truly Baptized in the first place.
No, it isn’t. The general Danish acceptance of homosexuality cannot in itself invalidate a proper Trinitarian baptism. In a sense the R.O.C. is showing the common eastern problem of Donatism.
I sense, that the ROC is taking this position because, with the rest of the Orthodox Churches, and they have been, in talks with Rome about ironing out the problems or issues that have been the cause of so much division between the two big liturgy-based churches so the dream of being able to “breathe with two lungs” will become a reality.
Also do you know that Pope B16 has been in talks with the Orthodox?
You can't very well hold a membership ceremony for hell, and then turn around and want heaven to accept that membership as well.
It could also be a call by the ROC to the Danish Lutherian faith community to do some soul-searching and repentence.
The general Danish acceptance of homosexuality cannot in itself invalidate a proper Trinitarian baptism. In a sense the R.O.C. is showing the ... problem of Donatism.Well said.
Donatism...or are the Danish and Swedes really neo-Arians?
I think this just applies to the “state” churches. There some small synods in both Sweden and Denmark who are much more orthodox.
Good for the Russian Orthodox. Make a stand.
I would have said, "homosexual relationships are a sin in Christian theology", even though the phrase would offend those who are pretending to be Christian but rewriting the Bible to fix what they see as God's mistakes.
Yes, I know that Benedict XVI has been in talks with the Orthodox. All the popes since at least Paul VI have been in talks with the Orthodox.
I don’t think this is about the R.O.C. view of the Catholic Church. After all, we still accept the baptisms of Danes as valid. We believe baptisms are invalid only when they are improper in some respect.
Very good point.
quite frankly, these guys are no longer Lutheran, not even Christian.
When you think of it, it may have sent a message to that branch of the Lutheran church as a reminder to reject sin and accept the good news of the Gospel.
That is true about the Catholic that it does accept the baptisms of the Lutherans as valid.
Opps, forgot to add the word “Church:”.
Yeah, you’re right Vlad, as much as I sympathize with the stance, I am not clear how the ROC justifies this.
Perhaps there are now defects introduced in the sacrament itself? Like the Danes will now baptize a child under the sponsorship of two men, or something? I’m not sure if even that would do it, but I would think the ROC take sacramental theology too seriously to dive headfirst into Donatism.
This is hardly the only problem the Orthodox have with the Danish Luthern church.
Exactly. Thank you for saying this.
But would the Obama Administration TRY to force them to do so? I believe dennisw is correct.
When you think of it, it may have sent a message to that branch of the Lutheran church as a reminder to reject sin and accept the good news of the Gospel.
///
while i applaud the idea... since in Christian theology, homosexual acts are clearly sinful...
i believe the ROC also refuses to accept most sacraments,
even of the Roman Catholic Church.
(even though, the Catholic church accepts all ROC sacraments as valid.)
You wrote:
“This is hardly the only problem the Orthodox have with the Danish Luthern church.”
I’m sure that’s true. This is also true, however:
“This is hardly the only problem the Orthodox have.”
In other words, to return to Thesis # 1 of the 95 Theses:
The Christian life is to be one of repentance.
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