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THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH'S VIEW ON HOMOSEXUALITY
                                                     BY
                                       FR. M. MIKHAIL, D. MIN
                                                     
                               ST. MARK COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
                                    2100 E. Pleasant Valley road
                                       Seven Hills, Ohio 44131



                                                 DEFINITION
                                                 ----------

 

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"Homosexuality is  a  predominant,   persistent and   exclusive  psychosexual
attraction toward members  of the same  sex. A homosexual  person is one  who
feels a sexual desire for and a sexual responsiveness to  persons of the same
sex and  who seeks or  would like to  seek actual sexual fulfillment  of this
desire by sexual acts with a person of the same sex."

 --Encyclopedia of Bioethics, Vol. 2, p. 671


                                                INTRODUCTION
                                                ------------

Homosexuality is almost as old as man. The first  mention in recorded history
concerns Lot and  the  well known history of Sodom  and  Gomorra,  which took
place over  4000  years ago. Throughout  all  those years,  homosexuality has
never been  accepted as  a normal behavior  and people  have never  been open
about it comfortably.


The Causes of Homosexuality:

Are homosexuals born that way? Do genes have anything to do with it? And many
questions. No one is born homosexual, nor is it something  over which one has
no  control,  unless  one  thinks  one  has   no  control  over  one's sexual
direction (a  child's identification is established by  the time he or she is
five years old).

No one can deny  that our biological  makeup has a  profound influence on our
lives. Hormones  have   a great impact   on  our sexual  drive. When  it  was
discovered that  both male and female hormones   circulate the bloodstream of
both  sexes, was speculated that an  effeminate man just  had too many female
hormones. However, such a theory  would not  explain the muscle-bound  weight
lifter who sexually prefers  men to  women.  Obviously, his problem is  not a
lack of male hormones.

Scientists who have  run extensive tests on male  and female homosexuals have
found their hormonal  level  to be  the same as  heterosexuals.  There  is no
scientific evidence to support the notion that homosexuality is inherited. It
is safe to say that one's genetic and biological makeup does indeed determine
his or her sex, but not his  or her sexual  preference.  We know of two basic
causes of homosexuality:

1.  A homosexual psychological  outlook (predisposition toward homosexuality)
which usually occurs so early in life that the person thinks he was born with
it, yet no one is born homosexual. It is formed in him or her.

There are many  factors which develop  homosexual behavior such as a hostile
father or mother. The majority of men and women with a predisposition toward
homosexuality did not turn out to be homosexuals, but married and learned to
be completely heterosexuals.

2.  Homosexuality  is   a  learned  behavior. Homosexuals are   made  and not
born. They    develop homosexuality by    thinking positively  of  homosexual
practices. Participating in such practices provides pleasure and consequently
leads to more positive thoughts toward homosexuals.


As his or her thoughts  and activities become more same  sex oriented, he  or
she tend to  think negatively about  the opposite  sex, so, a  predisposition
toward homosexuality itself does  not implement it. Homosexuality requires an
initial experience followed by same sex thought patterns and more experience.


The Coptic Orthodox Church and Homosexuality

The  Coptic  Orthodox Church considers  homosexuality a sin condemned by  God
in the Old and New Testaments. The Church  teaches that the only proper place
for  the exercise of the sexual  function is in  marriage between a man and a
woman. Nowadays the Gay  Right Movement, the  UFMCI (The Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community Churches) and  many psychiatrists try to change the
definition of the word "homosexuality" so  as to have homosexuals accepted as
full members of the society  and the church.   The Coptic Church takes a very
firm stand against homosexuality.   Homosexuality is a  sin according  to the
Holy Bible, tradition, and our Church creed.  A. Homosexuality is against God
and Christianity B. Homosexuality is  against the Church C. Homosexuality  is
against humanity and society.

Homosexuality is against God's will;  when  God created  the human being,  He
created a male and a female so that a man and a woman  would live their lives
together in  marriage   as one  flesh. The union    of man and  woman in  the
community of marriage is used  in the Bible  as the  image of God's  faithful
love for  Israel, and Christ's  sacrificial love for   the Church [Isaiah 54,
Jeremiah 3 and Ezekiel 16].  "For  the husband is  the head of the wife, even
as  Christ  is the   head of the   church: and   he   is the  savior   of the
body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to
their own husbands  in everything. Husbands,  love your wives, even as Christ
also loved  the church, and  gave himself for it; that  he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." [Ephesians 5:23-26]


B. The Holy Bible:

The Bible is the written word of God  in human form.  "All scripture is given
by   inspiration of God,  and is  profitable  for doctrine,  for reproof, for
correction, for  instruction in righteousness:   That the man   of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." [Timothy 3:16-17]

Homosexuality is a sin condemned by God in the Old and New Testaments. In the
Old Testament, homosexuality was  not only considered  a sin, but it was also
found to be a  capital offense, that is, punishable  by  death. "If a  man be
with mankind as he lieth    with a woman,  both of   them have committed   an
abomination, they  shall surely  be put to  death, their  blood shall be upon
them."  [Leviticus 20:13] Also  in Leviticus 18:22  "You  shall not be with a
male as with a woman, it is an abomination."

God   gave great punishment  to the  city  of Sodom  for   this sin. [Genesis
19:1-29] As a result, sodomy is another name for homosexuality.

The New Testament, speaking  of this  sinful  act, uses it to  illustrate the
"depraved  passions" of fallen  humanity: " . . .  their  women exchanged the
natural function for that  which is unnatural,  and in the  same way  the men
abandoned the natural  function of women and burned  in their desire  towards
one another, men with men, committing indecent acts. " [Romans 1 :24-28]

Homosexuality is an evil where punishment is promised. "Do  you know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of  God? Do not be deceived, neither
the immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor arsenokoitai, nor thieves, nor
the  greedy,  nor  drunkards, nor  revilers,   nor robbers  will  inherit the
kingdom of God.  [I Corinthians 6:9-10]

St. Paul in his letter  to Timothy said " . . .  understanding this, that the
law is not  laid down for  the just but  for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers
and   murderers  of mothers,   for  manslayers,  immoral  persons, sodomites,
kidnappers,   liars, perjurers, and    whatever  else is  contrary  to  sound
doctrine. [1 Timothy 1:9-10].

The  sin  in Sodom  was   homosexuality. Jude  in   his letter said  that its
punishment is eternal  fire. "Just as  Sodom and Gomorra and the  surrounding
cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in  unnatural  lust serve
as an example by undergoing a punish­ment of eternal fire." [Jude 7].


C. The Kingdom of God

God's  gift of eternal life in  Christ and the Holy Spirit  is the Kingdom of
God. Jesus brought   the Kingdom of  God to  the world through  the Spirit in
the Church.  To  live in the  Kingdom of God  is to live  in freedom from any
sin. We  said before that homosexuality is  a sin according to the scripture,
so a homosexual person would  be deceiving himself if he  thinks that he  can
practice that wrong life style and still go to heaven.

St. Paul said ". . . the Kingdom of God is . . .  righteousness and peace and
joy  in the Holy  Spirit, he who thus serves  Christ is acceptable to God and
approved by men." [Romans 14:17-18]


D. The Incarnation of Christ

The incarnation of   the word provided    quite a different context for   the
discussion of   homosexuality. In the book  "The   Incarnation of  the Word",
St. Athanasius sought to explicate  the purpose of  the incarnation of Christ
"the Lord  came among us"   because of the fallen state   of mankind. God had
created  man incorruptible   and  "willed   that     he should  remain     in
incorruptibility". He  continued to say  " .. for God did  not only create us
from nothing, but  He also granted  us by the  grace of the   Word to live  a
divine  life." However, mankind, "by the  counsel  of the devil corrupted the
pristine purity". People turned against nature and  indulged in sin, becoming
"insatiable in sinning". Homosexuality  is listed as  a sin by which  men and
women turned against nature and against the  divine plan for their lives. For
St. Athanasius,  to  be involved in homosexual  behavior  was to abrogate the
purpose both of the creation and of Christ's advent into the world.


E. Repentance

Repentance is  the act of changing the  attitude and practice of a Christian.
Repentance is a  feeling of sorrow which involves  the mercy of God as stated
in the New Testament "I have not come to call the  righteous, but the sinners
to repentance." [Luke 5:32]

Repentance is meaningful and significant when it includes a sincere change of
mind, heart, and attitude toward the fulfillment of the Gospel's instructions
and commandments.

Homosexual  people do  not  feel that their  acts  are sinful,  they will not
repent and will continue in their sin, so they are against repentance.


F. Holiness

Jesus Christ   invites all  of  us to  live  in  holiness like  Him. "Without
holiness, no one can see God." Whoever lives  in holiness, lives with God and
whoever lives in sin is far from God. Those who live in homosexuality live in
sin and uncleanness. They live far from holiness and even against it.


G. Salvation

In orthodox  theology,  salvation is  not  static  but dynamic, it  is  not a
completed state,  but a constant  moving toward theosis, toward becoming like
Christ, toward receiving the fullness of God's life. The meaning of salvation
is that God, through his only begotten  Son, Jesus Christ  our Lord, saves us
from  our sin.  As  we mentioned  before,  homosexuality is sinful, therefore
those who practice it are not saved and  are against salvation. They not only
commit this sin, but also enjoy it. "They not  only do them but approve those
who practice them." [Romans 1:32]


H. Resurrection

Paul,  the  apostle, said  that  the resurrection is  the  basis of the whole
ministry, and without it the ministry becomes vain. "If  Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain .... and if Christ be
not raised, your faith is vain, you are in your sins [ 1  Cor. 15: 14-17] The
proper sexual  relation between a  man and  a woman is  part of  the marriage
sacrament and extends  to the resurrection. The world  of the resurrection is
victorious  over death,  all   aspects  of  weakness,  isolation,   evil  and
corruption.

In our final resurrection in the Kingdom of God, the natural sexual relations
between man and woman will  end as the  limitations of sex will disappear due
to the end of sexual desires. In that aspect, Jesus Christ said "The children
of this world marry, and are given in marriage." [Luke 20:34]

The  sexual desire is  related to the biological structure  which is going to
disappear. The desire is there only until death. The sexual desire is a means
to maintain the  human race, therefore,  as death disap­pears from the world
of the resurrection,  the sexual desire also disappears.  This  is what Jesus
said "The children of this world marry, and are given in mar­riage: but they
which shall be  accounted worthy to  obtain that world,  and the resurrection
from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die
any more: for they  are equal unto the angels:  and are the children  of God,
being the children of the resurrection." [Luke 20:34-36]

Some people  want to live in the   world of the   resurrection while they are
still on   earth, as if   they have reached  the end  of time, therefore they
abstain  from the  natural sexual relationship  and live  in purity. They  do
that, not because they despise  sex, but to  dedicate all their energy to God
alone, to live  from now as  if  they are in the  world  of the resurrection,
defeating death.

The Coptic Orthodox Church was the first to start  monkhood. St. Antonius the
Egyptian  started monkhood, which  thereafter spread from  Egypt to the whole
world. For ages and up until now, many lived the life of monkhood in complete
purity, fulfilling Jesus' saying: "For there  are some eunuchs, which were so
born from their mother's  womb: and there are some  eunuchs, which  were made
eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have  made themselves eunuchs for
the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive
it. [Matt. 19:12]

If  the  proper sexual relationship  between  a man  and  a woman through the
sacrament of marriage will end at the world of the resurrection, and if there
are those who preceded the time and lived in the world of  God while they are
still  on earth, abstaining from the  natural sexual relationship, practicing
the life  of absolute purity   to be totally   united with  God, in the  same
picture that will be the kingdom of God, then what is the status of those who
practice abnormal sexual relations "homosexuality"? Indeed  it is an abnormal
and wrong  relationship  that contradicts      the objectives of     Christ's
resurrection and the life of His kingdom on earth.


I. Christianity in general

The   Gay church group  and their  belonging   to Christianity is strange and
shameful  to   Christianity among   the   other religions.    Judaism  fought
homosexuality. It resisted and refused it  as mentioned in the Old Testament,
so  did almost   all social groups    and schools of  behavior. They   refuse
homosexuality  with  all its  aspects.  The Gay church group  is  a  shame to
Christianity, not only because it carries the name  "church" but also because
of their presumption that they  are Christians while Christianity has nothing
to do with them.


J. Truth

"For the wrath  of God is  revealed from heaven  against  all ungodliness and
unrighteousness  of  men  who hold  the   truth  in unrighteousness." [Romans
1:18]. History and society defined homosexuality as untruthful.


K. Righteousness

Jesus Christ in the 'Sermon on the Mount' said, "Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness,   for they shall  be satisfied."  [Matt. 5:6]
St. Augustine explained that  saying: "He calls them lovers  of the  true and
unchangeable goodness. Therefore, they  shall be satisfied  with that food of
which the Lord  Himself says: 'My  food is to  do the will  of my Father' and
this is the  righteousness. And they  shall be satisfied  with that water, of
which  the Lord says:  'Whosoever  shall  drink, it shall  become  in  him  a
fountain of water springing up into life everlasting'. "


L. Fruits of the Spirit

In Romans 1:29-31 and Galatians 5:22, the sins of homosexual acts are against
the fruits  of    the Holy   Spirit    which should   be  present in    every
Christian. Those sins  are: "They were filled with  all manner of wickedness,
evil, covetousness, malice. Full  of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity,
they are gossips, slanderers,  haters  of God, insolent,  haughty,  boastful,
inventors of evil, disobedient  to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless and
ruthless." The fruits  of the Holy Spirit are  " . . . But  the  fruit of the
Spirit is love,    joy, peace, patience,  kindness, goodness,   faithfulness,
gentleness and  self-control."  Therefore, homosexuals  will never obtain the
fruits of the Holy Spirit.



                              HOMOSEXUALITY AGAINST THE CHURCH
                              ---------------------------------

A. The Church

In our  Coptic Orthodox Church,   we call the   church the Kingdom of God  on
earth. The church is the "new creation" as St. Paul said," . . . therefore if
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." [2 Cor. 5: 17] The Church is the
body and bride of Christ Himself,  "God has put  all things under the feet of
Christ and has made Him the head over all things for the Church, which is His
body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." [Eph. 1:22-23]

The   relationship between Christ  and the  Church  is  the same relationship
between a husband and his wife,  " . .  . for the husband is  the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the head of  the Church, and He is  the Savior of the
body." [Eph. 5:23] Therefore,  homosexual  acts are  against the  meaning  of
the Church.


B. Tradition

The word  "tradition" in Greek,  as it is  mentioned in the New  Testament is
"paradosis" which does not mean " imitation", its  cognate verb is paradidomi
which  means "handing  over  or delivering  a thing  by  hand". The  verb  is
"paralambano" meaning "receiving a thing".

The  church's tradition over  the  centuries  has affirmed the  heterosexual,
monogamous, faithful marital union   as   normative for the   divinely  given
meaning of the intimate  sexual relationship. But  for the homosexuality, the
traditional position was that such acts are always objectively grave evil and
intrinsically  disordered. This position, based  on  an understanding of  the
human person and of sexuality which they  had already rejected and arrived at
by an     ethical  methodology  already   declared inadequate,    they  found
unconvincing .  Also the Christian tradition  repudiated homosexuality in any
form  as in direct opposition to  the natural and social order. Homosexuality
was regarded as a sin against nature and as such abhorrent.


C. The Didache of the twelve apostles

The teaching  of  the twelve apostles' is  a  manual for the  instruction  of
Christians seeking to live in a Christian way. It says that life presents two
alternatives,  namely the way of life  and the way  of death. The way of life
has both positive  and negative aspects. The positive  is formulated in terms
of love for  God and neighbor. It was  to be a  second mile Christianity. The
negative is a list of practices to  be avoided "You  shall not commit murder,
you shall  not commit adultery,   you shall not   commit homosexual acts, you
shall not steal."


D. The Church Fathers

Clement  of Alexandria stated in the  second  century that the Church Fathers
are "those   who have instructed    us the faith".    They were ordinary  and
extraordinary people who experienced an awakening of faith  and sought by the
power of  the Spirit of God working   through them to  mediate that  faith by
making  the message of  Christian  hope and love real  to  their world.   The
following is a review of  what some of the Church  fathers' opinions were  in
the first five centuries about homosexuality:


(1) Theophilus of Antioch  Sixth bishop of that city.  In his "Ad Autolycum",
his only extant writing, is  a threevolume defense  of Christianity in  light
of the objections of  his  pagan friend  Autolycus.  As was common  among the
early defenders of Christianity, he concerned himself with the nature of God,
man's relationship to divinity, and morality.

God is visible only to  those who have opened the  "eyes of the soul" and who
maintain  this   condition of purity:  "Just  as  a man  must  keep  a mirror
polished,  so must he keep his  soul pure". Those who would  see God must, in
the  words of 2   Corinthians 7:1, cleanse  themselves "from  everything that
contaminates".
                                                                                   
The list presented by Theophilus includes both  active and passive homosexual
behavior. The Pauline sin list is cited again by Theophilus in the context of
asserting  that  it  is  essential  that  Chris­tian  faith,  guided  by the
prophetic   writings,  is  manifest   in obedience  to  God.  Certain  sexual
activities  will lead to present condemnation  as  well as to future anguish:

But  to  the unfaithful who   disregard   and  disobey   the truth but   obey
unrighteousness,  when  they  are  full  of  adultery,  and  fornication  and
homosexual acts  and  greed  and  lawless  idolatry,  there will   be  wrath,
tribulation and anguish and finally eternal fire will overtake such men.

(2) Clement of Alexandria [150-215]  was  born in  Alexandria, Egypt. In  his
book "The  Instructor", he  discusses the proper  behavior for  male. Clement
laments homosexual acts. He gives three reasons:

(a) He  feels  sympathy for those  who  are seduced, abused, and  misused. He
especially objects  to  the apparently common  practice  of holding  youth in
slavery to satisfy the perverted pleasure of the rich.

(b) The behavior pattern of homosexuality is considered contrary to nature.

(c) It  is  a symptom  and logical, if   undesirable, outgrowth of  excessive
desire  for the luxurious  and the sensuous,  a result of social disorder and
contributory  factor to  further degeneration. Christian   love  is to  avoid
licentiousness and exploitation.


(3) Origen [185-254] Director of the School of  Alexandria. Origen alluded to
homosexuality in the context  of a discussion  of temptation in his  book "On
Prayer".

He proposed that God does not give us over to temptation with the intent that
we should succumb. God  does not  direct anyone to  evil. "Good  orders every
rational soul with a view to eternal life . .  . it always maintains its free
will and of  its own direction either mounts  ever higher and higher until it
reaches  a  pinnacle   of  virtue,   or on the    contrary  descends  through
carelessness  to this  or that excess   of wickedness. If persons persist  in
sinful activities, they become ensnared by their sin, exchanging the glory of
the immortal God for image made to look like mortal man."  [Romans 1 :23] And
thus  being  of a "depraved  mind"  they  turn to  sexual  and  other  social
exploitation.

(4) Athanasius [296-373] Spokesman for this bishop Alexander of Alexandria in
the  great Council of  Nicaea [325]. He became the  20th Bishop of Alexandria
after Alexander.

In his book "Against the Heathen",  he developed the thesis that Christianity
is much   more   reasonable  than paganism.  He    discussed  at  length  the
historical development of  pagan theologies and  analyzed  the behavior which
became controlled by unreasonable passions and  pleasures, people were unable
to   perceive   the possibility of  any   other  life style.  Therefore, they
fashioned the divine in the image of their own wickedness and used this false
image  of   God   as a  rationale   for  devoting  themselves to  their   own
desires. Those not  satisfied with their  physical and social roles used this
theology  as permission for  their  licentiousness, including  homosexuality,
which Athanasius described by quoting Romans 1:26-27.

(5) St. Augustine [354-430] Bishop  of Hippo in North Africa.  In one of  his
sermons  (no.  162)  he said  "As  persons  become    involved in the   great
abomination of fornication or homosexuality,  they cannot think or attend  to
anything else. That   individual eventually becomes   a captive of  violence,
lust and carnality. He or she becomes a slave to the body. This preoccupation
drives  out the proper  reason for being  that is, to  function as the temple
of the Spirit of God. When this temple is defiled by sin,  it is abandoned by
God, and mankind is left to his unworthy preoccupation. "

(6) St. Basil the Great:  Bishop of Caesarea  in Cappadocia. In his book "God
is not the author of evil" he said that homosexuality is an "ignominious life
style   which  changes   the   natural  processes    into  those  which   are
unnatural". This in turn reduced the glory of God in  man to the level of the
animals. It is not to this end that man was created  in the image of God. The
acts of God and of those devoted to Him are to be in  harmony with nature and
with the concerns of the gospel.


E. The Ecumenical Council

The first  canonical epistle. They   who have committed  sodomy with  men  or
brutes, murders, wizards, adulterers  and idolaters have been  thought worthy
of the same  punishment. Therefore, observe  the same method with those which
you do with others.  We ought not to make  any  doubt of receiving  those who
have repented  thirty years for the uncleanness  which they committed through
ignorance for their willingness in  confessing it; therefore, command them to
be forthwith received,  especially if  they have tears   to prevail on   your
tenderness, and have (since their lapse) led  such a life  as to deserve your
compassion."


                         HOMOSEXUALITY AGAINST HUMANITY AND SOCIETY
                         ------------------------------------------

A. Man and Himself

In the book of Genesis, it was met, that  the twain should  be one (the twain
meaning the man and  the woman). For the twain  it says "shall be one flesh."
[Genesis 1:24] This  desire, of intercourse  affected and united the sexes to
each other. The devil,  having taken away  this desire, and having turned the
course thereof into   another fashion, he   thus sundered the  sexes from one
another,  and made the one to  become two parts in opposition  to  the law of
God. For it says "the two shall be of one flesh" but he divided the one flesh
into two.  Therefore, homosexuality is against man and himself.


B. Woman and Herself

We have just described  how homosexuality is  against man and himself, and in
the same way  it is against woman and  herself. Instead of the woman becoming
one flesh with the man in marriage, she  has divided that  one flesh into two
by having sex with  another woman. "Their  women exchanged  natural relations
for unnatural." [Romans 1:26]


C. Man and the Female Sex

The sex relationship between a man and a woman  is given by God for spiritual
reasons  to be used for  His  glory.  In  homosexuality,  man is against  the
female sex "Leaving the natural use of  the woman" [Romans 1:26], man misused
the  right sex, instead   of having sex  with a  woman, he is  having it with
another  man, thus becoming an instrument  of sin and  death. "Therefore, God
gave them up in the lusts of their hearts  to impurity, to the dishonoring of
their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for
a  lie and worshipped the creature  rather than  the  Creator, who is blessed
forever, Amen." [Romans 1 :24-25] .


D. Woman and the Male Sex

Homosexuality is against  the woman and  male sex in   the same way as it  is
against the man and female sex. "For even their women  did change the natural
use  into that which  is against nature. [Romans 1:26]  The women misused the
right sex, instead of  having  sex with a  man,  she is having it  with other
women,  thus becoming an  instrument of sin  and  death. "For this reason God
gave   them   up to  dishonorable  passions,   their  women exchanged natural
relations for unnatural". [Romans 1:26]


E. Marriage

Marriage is a part of human life on earth as created  by God . . . "Therefore
a  man leaves his  father  and his mother and  cleaves  to his wife, and they
become one flesh." [Genesis 2:24/Matthew  19:5-6]  God created  a male and  a
female   so  that a  man  and  a woman  would   live their lives  together in
marriage  as one flesh.  The union of  a man and  a woman in the community of
marriage is used in the Bible as the image of God's  faithful love for Israel
and Christ's sacrificial love for  His church. [Isaiah 54/Ephesus 5:22-23]  .
This is  the  meaning  of marriage  as   it  was created  by   God, therefore
homosexuality or sexual  acts with a  person of  the same sex  is against the
meaning of marriage and what it stands for.


F. The Family

Children are the  fruit of true  love between a  man and a woman in marriage,
and are the greatest  bond of their union.   Within  family life,  the father
must be  the leader and  head. He must   also love his  wife and  children as
Christ loves His church for  which He died.  The wife must be totally devoted
to her husband and must demand, encourage  and enable his leadership. This is
the normal way of family life as prescribed  in the scriptures, and any other
relationship between  men such as  homosexuality are abnormal and against the
family way of life.  According to the Christian faith, the greatest virtue is
love [  1 Corinthians 13: 13] .  Love  is the  fulfilling  of the law  of God
[Romans 13:10].  For God Himself is love.  Our  church fathers have  used the
0T's song of songs as the poetic image of  God's love for  man and man's love
for  God.  St. Paul uses this  image of Christ's  love for the church. In the
book of Revelations, the love relation­ship between God and His people is in
the form of marriage, such as "for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His
bride has made herself ready: it  was granted to her to  be clothed with fine
linen, bright  and pure  for  the fine linen  is  the righteous deeds  of the
saints." [Rev. 19:78]

Christian joy is  not earthly happiness, pleasure or   fun. It is the joy  in
believing [Romans 15:13], the joy of knowing the freedom of truth in the love
of  God [John 8:32]  and the joy  of being  made  worthy to share in Christ's
sufferings. [1 Peter 4:13].   The homosexual looks  for selfish  pleasure and
earthly happiness, and this is against Christian joy.


I. Peace

Jesus said " . . . peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the
world gives do I give  to you." [John 14:27] The  homosexual people lost that
peace and turned against it,  as St. Paul  said about the Roman who practised
homosexuality: " . . . they were filled with all  manner of wickedness, evil,
covetousness, malice, full  of envy, murder,  strife, deceit, malignity, they
are gossips, slanderers, haters of God ..." [Romans 1:30]


J. Patience and Kindness

To be patient, according to  Jesus Christ, is to bring  forth fruit from  the
seeds of God's word. "And as for  that in the good soil,  they are those who,
hearing the word, hold it fast  in an honest and good  heart, and bring forth
fruit with patience." [Luke 8: 15]  If one wishes  to be patient, one must be
united with Christ and live by the power of the Spirit [I Cor. 10:13], unlike
the homosexuals   who   were filled with  all   manner  of  wickedness, evil,
covetousness, malice, envy,  murder,  strife, deceit  and malignity.  God  is
kind and Christians are  urged to follow God in  His  kindness and to  do all
things gently and with tenderness. A kind person will correct others, if need
be,  and his very   kindness will be  shown by  his care and  concern for the
well being of his  fellow creatures for whom Christ  died.  Instead  of being
kind, homosexuals are " . . . foolish, faithless, heartless and ruthless."


K. Self Control

Selfcontrol is  one of the  main characteristics of God and   one of the main
gift of man  when God created  him in His image.  Man  loses his self control
when he sells  himself to sin  and becomes a slave to  the corruption of  his
fleshly passions.   A man  without  self  control is enslaved,  a  captive of
sin, the willing instrument of carnal passions, the victim of all foolishness
and evil.


L. Faithfulness

To be faithful means to be absolutely true to one's word, to be totally loyal
to one's devotion, to be  completely  steadfast and  unswerving in one's  own
calling and  vocation ..  The  main enemy of faithfulness to  God and  man is
pride. Homosexuals are full of pride, they are " . .  . slanderers, haters of
God, insolent, haughty, boastful,  inventors of evil, disobedient  to parents
. . . " [Romans 1:30]


M. Nature

St. Paul said in Romans 1:26 "For even their women did change the natural use
into that which is against nature." Here, no one  can say that it was because
of lack of legitimate intercourse that they did that, nor was  it for lack of
means  to fulfill  their desire that   they  were driven  into this monstrous
insanity. As regards to  men, again  St.  Paul points out " . . . Ieaving the
natural use of  the woman". They  not  only had  means of gratification,  and
leaving that which   they had,  they went after    another, but also   having
dishonored that which was natural,  they  ran after  that which was  contrary
to nature which had in it an  irksomeness and displeasure  so that they could
not fairly allege   even pleasure, for  genuine pleasure   is  that which  is
according to nature.  Here in   the place of   the world, St. Paul sets   the
pleasure according to  nature, which they would have  enjoyed with more sense
of security and greater glad­heartedness, and so would have been far removed
from shameful  deeds. Yet they  would not, and  have done an insult to nature
itself.


                                      OVERCOMING HOMOSEXUALITY
                                      ------------------------

Christianity, the Bible and the Church can provide a lot of help and support
for those who are willing to change.

For a homosexual to overcome his or her homosexuality, they must:   (a) Have
a strong desire to come out (b) Seek and accept the healing power of God (c)
Accept support from the society including family, friends, priests, pastors,
counselors and psychologists.

Jesus Christ the Savior is waiting to  be asked. His tremendous healing power
can be miraculous.  Homosexuality is a sin, confession provides relief and is
a positive step. It should be followed by repen­tance.  Homosexuality is not
born with the person, it is a learned behavior which can be changed.

The following measures are helpful:

(a) Study of the Bible, especially the verses against homosexuality
(b) Study the  history  to  learn  of  the  results  of  the  homosexual acts
    throughout history
(c) Learn God's purpose of creating a man and a woman, as a male and a female,
    and thank Him for defining an individual sex
(d) One must learn how to gain self control and self respect
(e) One must know the true  meaning of love,  joy, peace, patience, kindness,
    goodness, faithfulness and gentleness
(f) one  must know   the true meaning   of incar­nation,   resurrection, the
    Kingdom of  God, righteousness and live with  these tremendous  values by
    the power of the Holy Spirit
(g) one must appreciate the  society in which  he lives and what it provides:
    church,  marriage,  family and  one  must decide to live   as  a full and
    responsible member of that society
(h) One must stand behind his decision,  forget the past,  look to the future
    and happiness of life with Jesus Christ.


                                                 CONCLUSION
                                                 ----------

Homosexuality is a sin condemned by God in  the Old and  New Testaments.  The
Old Testament not  only considered homosexuality a sin,  but found it to be a
capital offense that is punishable by death. "If a man lie with mankind as he
lieth  with a woman,  both of them have committed  an abomination, they shall
surely be put to death, their blood shall be upon them." [Leviticus 20:13] In
the New Testament in Corinthians 6:9-10,  it says: "No effeminate nor abusers
of themselves with mankind shall  inherit the kingdom  of God."  A  Christian
person  is one who  basically seeks to obey the  Word of God. A homosexual is
deceiving himself if he thinks he can practice that lifestyle and still go to
heaven.  Homosexuality is a sin, and a homosexual who wants to recover should
see it as such and repent.


REFERENCES
----------
1. "The Holy Bible", (standard version).

2. "The Bible Dictionary".

3. "Encyclopedia of Bioethics" vol. 2, p 671.

4. "The Orthodox Faith", Vol. IV, "spirituality", Department of Religious
   Education, Orthodox Churches in America ‑ New York 1976.

5. "The  Orthodox  Faith", Vol.   III,  "Bible  and Church",  Department   of
   Religious Education, Orthodox Churches in America New York 1976.

6. "Contemporary Moral Issues Facing the Orthodox Church" by Stanley Harakes,
   Lights and Life Publishing Co. M.N.

7.  "The Tradition and  Orthodoxy" by  Fr. Tadrous Malely,  St. George Coptic
   Orthodox Alexandria Egypt.

8. "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles", 2, 2.

9. "What   You Should Know  About Homosexuality"  by Clark Keysor, Publishing
   House, 1979.

10. "The Church Fathers and Homosexuality" by D. Bunding.

11. "The Resurrection  Letter of St.   Athanasius" by Jack  N. Sparks, Ph.D.,
    Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville.

12. "The Nicene and Post  Nicene Fathers", Vol.  III, Eerdman Publishing Co.,
    Michigan.

13. "The Incarnation of the Word" by St. Athanasius.

14. "Sex and its Human Meaning" by Castey Bandaly, Light Publishing, Lebanon.

15. "Confession,    A Merciful  Privilege  and a    Sacrament" by Rev. George
    Mastrantous, Ologos Publishing, St. Louis, Missouri.

16. "Homosexuality  and Ethics" by  Edward Batchelor, Jr., The Pilgrim Press,
    New York, 2nd printing, 1982.

17. "What Are They Saying About Sexual Morality?" by 1. Hanign, Paulist Press.

18. "Theophilus of Antioch "Ad Autolycum", Ibid 1 : 14.

19.  "The Unhappy  Gays"  by Tim   Lahaye, Library of  Congress Catalog  Card
    no. 77-93751 SBNO-84237797-2-1978.

20. "A Boy's  Sex  Life: A Handbook of  Basic  Information and  Guidance", by
    William J. Bausch, Fides, Claretian, Notre Dame Indiana.

21. "Flesh and Spirit: A Examination of Galatians" by William Barclay.

22. "0ur Church and Our Children" by Sophie Koulomzin, St. Vladimir's Seminary
    Press, New York.

23.  "Introducing the  Orthodox Church, Its   Faith and Life" by Fr.  Anthony
    Coniaris, Light and Life Publishing Co., Minneapolis.

24. "The Nicene   and Post Nicene  Fathers", Vol.  XIV,  The Seven Ecumenical

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