Russian Metropolitan Blasts Anglican Communion's Sexual Innovations

VirtueOnline ^ | 9/13/10 | David Virtue

[Brian Kopp DPM]

Russian Metropolitan Blasts Anglican Communion's Sexual Innovations
Hilarion praises Global South stand on marriage. Absence of heresy deplored.

Our Church must sever its relations with those churches and communities that trample on the principles of Christian ethics and traditional morals. Here we uphold a firm stand based on Holy Scripture.

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
Sept. 13, 2010

In a ground-breaking address at Lambeth Palace before the Nicean Club that included the Archbishop of Canterbury, Russian Metropolitan Hilarion blasted parts of the Anglican Communion experimenting with sexual innovations and said they threatened continuing dialogue with the Orthodox Church.

In surprise remarks that observers say embarrassed Dr. Williams, Hilarion ripped Western Anglican liberals who had deviated from heterosexual marriage calling it "an abyss that divides traditional Christians from Christians of liberal trend."

The Patriarch praised "traditionalists", especially in the South and the East, and said the recent 2nd All African Bishops' Conference held in late August had it right when they affirmed the Biblical standard of the family as marriage between a man and a woman as its foundation. "One of the purposes of marriage is procreation of children some of whom grow to become the leaders of tomorrow," he said.

"Nowadays it is increasingly difficult to speak of 'Christianity' as a unified scale of spiritual and moral values, universally adopted by all Christians. It is more appropriate, rather, to speak of 'Christianities', that is, different versions of Christianity espoused by diverse communities.

"All current versions of Christianity can be very conditionally divided into two major groups - traditional and liberal. The abyss that exists today divides not so much the Orthodox from the Catholics or the Catholics from the Protestants as it does the 'traditionalists' from the 'liberals'."

"Some Christian leaders, for example, tell us that marriage between a man and a woman is no longer the only way of building a Christian family: there are other models and the Church should become appropriately 'inclusive' to recognize alternative behavioural standards and give them official blessing. Some try to persuade us that human life is no longer an absolute value; that it can be terminated in a mother's womb or that one can terminate one's life at will. Christian 'traditionalists' are being asked to reconsider their views under the slogan of keeping abreast with modernity.

"Among the vivid indications of disagreement within the Anglican Community (I am reluctant to say 'schism') is the fact that almost 200 Anglican bishops refused to attend the 2008 Lambeth Conference. I was there as an observer from the Russian Orthodox Church and could see various manifestations of deep and painful differences among the Anglicans."

Heresy absent

"Today the notion of heresy, while present in church vocabulary, is manifestly absent from the vocabulary of contemporary politically-correct theology - a theology that prefers to refer to "pluralism" and to speak of admissible and legitimate differences," he said.

"Indeed, St Paul himself wrote that 'there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval' (1 Cor. 11:19). But what kind of differences was he referring to? Certainly not those which concerned the essence of faith, church order or Christian morals. For, in these matters, there is only one truth and any deviation from it is none other than heresy."

Dialogue Threatened

"Today the Orthodox-Anglican Dialogue itself has come under threat. It is especially lamentable because this dialogue has had a long and rich history, beginning with the numerous talks at various levels held between Orthodox and Anglicans from the 17th century.

Hilarion said he was concerned about the fate of this dialogue. "We appreciate the proposal Archbishop Rowan Williams made this year to exclude from the dialogue those Anglican churches which failed to observe the moratorium on the ordination of open homosexuals. But we regard this proposal as not quite sufficient to save the dialogue from an approaching collapse. The dialogue is doomed to closure if the unrestrained liberalization of Christian values continues in many communities of the Anglican world.

"We are equally concerned about the fate of bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of England," he said.

Women's Ordination

Hilarion said first difficulties in relation to the Church of England emerged in 1992 when its General Synod agreed to ordain women to the priesthood. "The Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church came out with an official statement expressing regret and concern over this decision as contradicting the tradition of the Early Church.

"One might ask why our Church should have concerned itself at all with this matter? By the early 90s the Protestant world had already ordained many women pastors and even women bishops. But the unique point here was that the Anglican Community had long sought rapprochement with the Orthodox Church. Many Orthodox Christians recognized the existence of apostolic continuity in Anglicanism. From the 19th century, Anglican members of the Association of Eastern Churches sought 'mutual recognition' with the Orthodox Church and its members believed that 'both Churches preserved the apostolic continuity and true faith in the Saviour and should accept each other in the full communion of prayers and sacraments'.

"Much has changed since. The introduction of the female priesthood in the Church of England was followed by discussions on the female episcopate. In response to the positive decision made by the Church of England's General Synod on this issue, the Department for External Church Relations published a new statement saying that this decision 'has considerably complicated dialogue with the Anglicans for Orthodox Christians' and 'has taken Anglicanism farther away from the Orthodox Church and contributed to further division in Christendom as a whole'."

Hilarion said his church had studied the preparatory documents for the decision on female episcopate and were struck by the conviction expressed in them that even if the female episcopate were introduced, ecumenical contacts with the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches would not come to an end.

"What made the authors of these documents so certain? There was a second controversial statement. The same document argued that despite a possible cooling down in relations with Catholics and Orthodox, the Church of England would strengthen and broaden its relations with the Methodist Church and the Lutheran Churches in Norway and Sweden. In other words, the introduction of the female episcopate 'will bring both gains and losses'. The question arises: Is not the cost of these losses too high? I can say with certainty that the introduction of the female episcopate excludes even a theoretical possibility for the Orthodox to recognize the apostolic continuity of the Anglican hierarchy."

Homosexuality and same-sex unions

The Metropolitan said he was also extremely concerned and disappointed by other processes that are manifesting themselves in churches of the Anglican Communion. "Some Protestant and Anglican churches have repudiated basic Christian moral values by giving a public blessing to same-sex unions and ordaining homosexuals as priests and bishops. Many Protestant and Anglican communities refuse to preach Christian moral values in secular society and prefer to adjust to worldly standards."

"In 2003, the Russian Orthodox Church had to suspend contact with the Episcopal Church in the USA due to the fact that this Church consecrated a self-acclaimed homosexual, Jim Robertson, as bishop. The Department for External Church Relations made a special statement deploring this fact as anti-Christian and blasphemous. Moreover, the Holy Synod of our Church decided to suspend the work of the Joint Coordinating Committee for Cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Episcopal Church in the USA, which had worked very successfully for many years. The situation was aggravated when a woman bishop was installed as head of the Episcopal Church in the USA in 2006 and a lesbian was placed on the bishop's chair of Los Angeles in 2010.

"Similar reasons were behind the rupture of our relations with the Church of Sweden in 2005 when this Church made a decision to bless same-sex "marriages". And recently the lesbian Eva Brunne has become the "bishop" of Stockholm."

Liberalism and Relativism

"It is impossible to pass silently by the liberalism and relativism which have become so characteristic of today's Anglican theology. From the time of Archbishop Michael Ramsay of Canterbury, the Church of England saw the emergence of so-called modernism which rejected the very foundations of Christianity as a God-revealed religion. Among its most eloquent representatives was the Anglican Bishop of Woolwich, Dr. I. A. T. Robinson, the author of the sensational book Honest to God. The Bishop of Woolwich's worldview can be described as 'Christian atheism'. Indeed, he rejected the existence of a personal God, of the Creator of the world and of Providence. He also denied the existence of the spiritual world in general and of the future life in particular. It should be admitted that these views provoked protests on the part of some Anglican bishops, led by Archbishop Michael Ramsey of Canterbury.

Hilarion said that what His Holiness the Patriarch says about Protestantism can be applied equally to many Anglican communities. "In the 19th and 20th centuries, Orthodox communities discussed seriously the recognition of Anglican priesthood based on its recognized apostolic continuity. Now we are very far from this. And the gap between the liberal Anglicans and the Orthodox keeps growing."

What can these churches say to their faithful and to secular society? What kind of light do they shine upon the world (cf. Mt. 5:14)? What is their 'salt'? I am afraid the words of Christ can be applied to them: If the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men (Mt. 5:13).

A senior Church of England official told VOL that the Metropolitans' remarks confound the lies about "dialogue with the Orthodox and Catholics will not be impaired by WO/HO - the message is clear and simple and straight between the eyes."

[DManA]

Fixation is a good word. You’d thing homosexuality was the most important thing for Christian to think about on Earth.

[Yet_Again]

The Russian Orthodox church has emerged as a staunch defender of traditional western values over the past 10 years. I remember reading an article a few years back in which a renegade priest had performed a gay marriage ceremony in one of their houses of worship. They burned it down, disbanded the congregation, and defrocked the cleric.

[HereInTheHeartland]

” They burned it down, disbanded the congregation, and defrocked the cleric.”

Pretty clear where they stand!!!

[GeronL]

“sexual innovations”

*snicker*

I could show them some websites... lol

[GeronL]

” They burned it down, disbanded the congregation, and defrocked the cleric.”

I bet some of them still didn't get the message. lol.

[wideawake]

Moral theologians will always be concerned about the cultural normalization of grave evil.

[HereInTheHeartland]

“I bet some of them still didn't get the message. lol.”

Yes I guess they did actually go easy on them. They didn't salt the scorched earth where the building stood!!

[little jeremiah]

Thanks for posting this. I will read it later tonight and ping it out.

[xzins]

Good for Hilarion....a man I could listen to and learn from.

The faithful Orthodox continue to be an encouragement to me.

[Kolokotronis]

“The faithful Orthodox continue to be an encouragement to me.”

God Bless you, Padre!

[AgThorn]

God bless my russian Christian brothers and sisters! thank you for standing up for God!

[little jeremiah]

The only reason normal, moral people are concerned about homosexuality is because homosexuals and their enablers are the ones who are fixated with it.

[little jeremiah]

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A very good read no matter what one's religious persuasion (or none). It is always encouraging to read the words of leaders standing up for moral absolutes. Hilarion speaks the clear truth, and in a polite and respectful manner. Would that many others follow his lead.

Weakness of heart - cowardice and lack of internal strength - has allowed the pushers of the "gay" agenda to succeed as well as they have. It is now time to fight back.

The Metropolitan said he was also extremely concerned and disappointed by other processes that are manifesting themselves in churches of the Anglican Communion. "Some Protestant and Anglican churches have repudiated basic Christian moral values by giving a public blessing to same-sex unions and ordaining homosexuals as priests and bishops. Many Protestant and Anglican communities refuse to preach Christian moral values in secular society and prefer to adjust to worldly standards."

[marshmallow]

In surprise remarks that observers say embarrassed Dr. Williams, Hilarion ripped Western Anglican liberals who had deviated from heterosexual marriage calling it "an abyss that divides traditional Christians from Christians of liberal trend.".........

I've done a quick flick through the British dailies and I find nothing about this!! Amazing..........but then again, maybe it's not. The British gutter press should no longer surprise me.

The point I'm getting at is; imagine if one of the British Catholic bishops or even the Pope himself had done this. I mean, you can just see the headlines, can't you? Tatchell and Dawkins would be calling for his arrest for human rights violations against homosexuals. The lavender activists would be marching in the streets. The tabloids would have a bonanza.........

"Pope's homophobic rant stuns bewildered Archbishop of Canterbury" would be the type of headline which would be all over the news.

But no....................nada.

There are two sets of rules in the UK. One for the Catholic Church and one for everybody else. I hope nobody takes this as a lament that Met. Hilarion didn't get reamed. Rather, I'm lamenting the hypocrisy of the British media.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

The point I'm getting at is; imagine if one of the British Catholic bishops or even the Pope himself had done this.

If only. Instead, we get this:

Monday September 13, 2010

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Archbishop Nichols's Comments on Gay Unions Endanger the Souls of My Children

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Commentary by John Smeaton, Director of SPUC

LONDON, September 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - These are dangerous times for families in Britain - and they are dangerous times too for Catholic families in Britain.

In today's Telegraph, Archbishop Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster, described as the "leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales" is interviewed by Neil Tweedie. He asks the archbishop whether the Catholic church should one day accept the reality of gay partnerships, who replies:

"I don't know ... "

Now this is not an off-the-cuff, careless, remark by His Grace. He means what he says. Only two months ago I watched him in an exchange on Catholic teaching and gay unions during an interview on BBC's Hardtalk (Friday, 2nd July). Stephen Sackur, the Hardtalk interviewer, asked the archbishop:

"Some of their vicars are also prepared to sanction gay unions. That church is showing flexibility. Is the Catholic church not going to have to do the same eventually?"

To which the archbishop replied

"I don't know. Who knows what's down the road?"

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

"Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved." (Part Three, Section Two, The Ten Commandments, Article 6)

I am in no position to judge where Archbishop Nichols stands in the sight of God when he makes statements so clearly at odds with Catholic teaching. However, as a Catholic parent, I am in a position to say, and on behalf of Catholic parents I meet up and down the country, that Archbishop Nichols's, my archbishop's, comments are dangerous to the souls of my children. And as a pro-life campaigner, I once again recall the late Pope John Paul II, the great pro-life champion, who taught in paragraph 97 of his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae that it is an illusion to think that we can build a true culture of human life if we do not offer adolescents and young adults an authentic education in sexuality, and in love, and the whole of life according to their true meaning and in their close interconnection.

Elsewhere in the Telegraph interview, in the context of the sexual abuse of children, Archbishop Nichols says:

"I can assure people that children in the care of the Catholic Church, in schools and parishes, will be safeguarded. They can be confident of that."

Yet children returning this autumn term to Catholic schools up and down the country will be subjected,  courtesy of Archbishop Nichols and the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, through the agency the Catholic Education Service, to the government policy of giving schoolgirls, under the age of consent, access to secret abortions without parental knowledge or consent. They are delivering Catholic and non-Catholic children to the abortionists - and I can think of no greater abuse of children and parental rights and responsibilities than that.

This commentary was originally published on the John Smeaton blog http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/

See Follow up commentary:

Pope Benedict Contradicts Archbishop Nichols on "gay unions"
Just two days after Archbishop Vincent Nichols said, for the second time in recent weeks, that he did not know if the Catholic Church would "accept the reality of gay partnerships" (11th September) or "sanction gay unions" (2nd July), Pope Benedict has made a statement which, effectively, puts Archbishop Nichols firmly in his place.
http://spuc-director.blogspot.com/2010/09/pope-benedict-contradicts-archbishop.html

Fortunately, the Pope stepped up to bat:

Monday, 13 September 2010

Pope Benedict contradicts Archbishop Nichols on "gay unions"

Just two days after Archbishop Vincent Nichols said, for the second time in recent weeks, that he did not know if the Catholic Church would "accept the reality of gay partnerships" (11th September) or "sanction gay unions" (2nd July), Pope Benedict has made a statement which, effectively, puts Archbishop Nichols firmly in his place.

Pope Benedict was formally receiving the letters of credence of Germany's new ambassador to the Holy See. According to the Vatican Information Service, His Holiness began by speaking about Fr. Gerhard Hirschfelder, "a martyr priest who died under the Nazi regime and who is due to be beatified in Munster on 19 September. He also referred to the beatifications of four other priests and the commemoration of an Evangelical pastor, scheduled for 2011."

Pope Benedict continued:

"Contemplating these martyrs, it emerges ever more clearly how certain men, on the basis of their Christian convictions, are ready to give their lives for the faith, for the right to exercise their beliefs freely and for freedom of speech, for peace and human dignity.

"[However] many men tend to show an overriding inclination towards more permissive religious convictions. The personal God of Christianity, Who reveals Himself in the Bible, is replaced by a supreme being, mysterious and undefined, who has only a vague relation with the personal life of human beings.

"These ideas are increasingly animating discussion within society, especially as regards the areas of justice and lawmaking ...

"The Church looks with concern at the growing attempts to eliminate the Christian concept of marriage and the family from the conscience of society. Marriage is the lasting union of love between a man and a woman, which is always open to the transmission of human life ... the success of marriages depends upon us all and on the personal culture of each individual citizen. In this sense, the Church cannot approve legislative initiatives that involve a re-evaluation of alternative models of marriage and family life. They contribute to a weakening of the principles of natural law, and thus to the relativisation of all legislation and confusion about values in society".

I said on Saturday that "Archbishop Nichols's, my archbishop's, comments are dangerous to the souls of my children". I thank God that Pope Benedict has spoken out today re-iterating the Catholic Church's unchanging teaching on this matter. The ball is now in Archbishop Nichols's court to make it clear, unequivocally, that he withdraws his comments on gay unions and that he supports papal teaching on this matter.