Sexual identities, in contrast to sexual practices or passions, are a relatively new concept. Only recently were passions taken to define people, i.e. seen as constituting an identity or essence, such as homosexual or heterosexual—an understanding that even many secular circles now scorn as untenable. It is, then, discouraging to see a highly respected Orthodox hierarch … [Read more...] about The Unbearable Essentializing of Being: Metropolitan Kallistos Ware’s Sorrowful Joy of Sex
Articles
Love is Giving Yourself to Another, That He Might Live By You
Readers of Kyriakos Markides’ "Mountain of Silence” already know Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol as “Fr Maximus” of Mt Athos. In this wonderful talk on marriage, Metropolitan Athanasios exhibits the same personal, relaxed, but powerfully insightful style of discourse that we remember from Markides’ book, as he discusses wide-ranging issues from the the communion of marriage … [Read more...] about Love is Giving Yourself to Another, That He Might Live By You
On Suicide
Orthodoxy not uncommonly calls on us to maintain a sort of binocular vision, affirming two seemingly opposing views. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of suicide, where we are asked both to love the perpetrator and refrain from judgment, while at the same time condemning the act as itself profoundly abhorrent. Our therapeutic mindset finds the former easy, and the … [Read more...] about On Suicide
An Open Letter to a “Gay-Rights” Advocate
Editors Note. This essay, written by Dr. David C. Ford, Professor of Church History at St. Tikhon's Seminary, responds to a homosexual activist who argues that the Orthodox moral tradition should be retooled to sanction homosexual behavior. The arguments, while unfamiliar to some Orthodox readers, are not new. They were first used against the Episcopal Church over four decades … [Read more...] about An Open Letter to a “Gay-Rights” Advocate
Advice to Future Priests: Be Open to Questions
St. Vladimir’s Seminary Commencement Address Delivered May 19, 2018 By David Bradshaw Your Beatitude, Your Grace, Reverend Fathers, fellow scholars and students of Holy Orthodoxy, graduates, family and friends, It is a great pleasure to be with you on this happy occasion. Like many of you, I had heard of St. Vladimir’s through its publications and graduates … [Read more...] about Advice to Future Priests: Be Open to Questions
