Teachings: Moral and Social Issues

The Orthodox Church throughout the ages has maintained a continuity of faith with the apostolic community which was founded by Christ and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Orthodoxy believes that she has preserved and taught the historic Christian Faith, free from error and distortion, from the time of the Apostles. The air of antiquity and timelessness which often characterizes Eastern Christianity is an expression of her desire to remain loyal to the authentic Christian Faith. Church teachings touch on every element of life including moral and social issues.

As we consider the following, we must always remember that the Church is a hospital for those who have, and continue to miss the mark (sin) in life. We must remember God's mercy and love. We must always remember that, even if we have struggled with the following issues, intentionally or unintentionally, that no sin, vice, passion, shortcoming, or mistake, can seperate the repentant man or woman from God. If we have made these mistakes, we must cry out from our hearts, "Lord have mercy" and change our ways. If we have made these mistakes, we must turn toward Christ, heeding His words to be repenting, and to seek first the kingdom of God above all else. When we do this, we will not find death or despair, we will find healing, transformation, and holiness, through the healing touch of the physician of our souls and bodies, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Abortion

"Be fruitful and multiply." Looking to the Scriptures and Holy Tradition, we witness God's love for mankind, the pricelessness of each person, and His command that our family to grow. We recognize this in Abraham and Sarah, the parents of Isaac, Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, Joachim and Anna, the parents of Virgin Mary, and others. Every single human being, those in the womb, as well as those outside of the womb, are priceless, holy, and a gift from God. A person is a person, from the moment of conception, and, from that very moment, the most valuable thing in the universe, the crown of God's creation. The Church unequivocally forbids the killing of people, inside or outside the womb, from the very moment of conception until the final breath of old age.

The Church teaches that the womb is the place of life. It is in the womb of the Virgin Mary where the Lord was incarnate and entered into the world. In light of this rich history of God’s favor and infinite love for every human being, how can we allow the womb to become a grave? The human life in the womb is so precious that the Orthodox Christian Church recognizes and celebrates the conceptions of three special persons: Jesus’ Conception at the Annunciation on March 25th; the Virgin Mary’s conception on December 9th and John the Baptist’s conception on September 23rd. Again, the Church's teaching is clear, life begins at conception.

One of the reasons God favored the Israelites in war against their neighboring peoples, was to counter their pagan, idolatrous beliefs and practices including child sacrifice. God used Israel to help purge such abominable acts from the earth. It is terrible that these practices have returned and grown to the degree that they have in our modern times. Innocent people have been tricked by pro-abortion teachings from their youth. It is impossible to quantify the amount of children that have been killed via abortions and the usage of abortifacient equipment and the taking of abortifacient pharmaceuticals.

What is an abortion? Abortion is the intentional or unintentional termination of a pregnancy from the moment of conception onward. Although not very well known, or spoken of, there can be unintential, and unknown abortions as a result of the usage of almost all forms of man-made "contraceptives." Natural misscarriage is a different matter altogether.

Life begins at conception. Below are a few scriptural quotations speaking to this teaching.

Genesis 2:24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.
Genesis 4:1 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the LORD.”
Isaiah 44:24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by myself spread out the earth;
Isaiah 49:1 The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
Jeremiah 1:4-5 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Psalm 139:13-16 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.
Galatians 1:15 But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace

The early Church taught that abortion is absolutely forbidden. Below is a small sampling of quotations speaking to this teaching.

You shall not slay the child by abortions (Didache, 1st cent.).
You shall not destroy your conceptions before they are brought forth, nor kill them after they are born (Barnabus, 70AD).
The life in the womb may not be destroyed (Tertullian, 223AD).
The woman who purposely destroys her unborn child is guilty of murder. (St. Basil the Great)
The Holy Canons of the Church explicitly forbid abortion i.e., Canon XCI, Canon II, Canon XXI.

The Church teaches that abortion is the taking of innocent human life. To say it plainly, intentional abortion is the murder of a person created in the image and likeness of God, the most precious crown of God's creation. The Church and its clergy sympathize greatly with the people of our modern times who have been tricked into believing otherwise. Many have made the decision to abort a child after having been taught from their youth that abortion is acceptable, normal, or the right choice. Society teaches that abortion is not murder due to their incorrect teaching of when life begins. We also sympathize with those who have been taught otherwise, but seek to offer a clear warning that man-made "contraceptives" can have the defastating effect of aborting a child. Thus, Orthodox Chrstians are taught not to use any man-made contraceptives.

It is estimated that millions of children die each year through abortions and the usage of abortifacient "contraceptives" and the taking of abortifacient "contraceptive" pharmaceuticals. This is the tragedy of our modern age. Children are the greatest gift from God. There is nothing more precious in the universe than a human being from the moment of conception until their final breath.

Contraception

"For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh.” The purpose of marriage is the joining of the man and the woman to bring forth new life into the world and to grow in oneness and holiness together on the journey to the kingdom of God. Marriage and childbearing are part and parcel. Humans are the crown of creation and babies are the most precious innocent beings in the universe. There is nothing more important for a man and woman than to join together in a fruitful and healthy marriage, bringing life into the world, and journeying together to the kingdom. God is our Father, we are His children, and therefore family is the most important endeavor of any man and woman.

Since bringing forth new life in the world is one of man and woman's foremost callings, the church does not bless anything that destroys or inhibits that divine possibility. In a world increasingly veiled to the truth of what so-called "contraceptions" actually do, we must flesh out the topic. When we think of abortion, we think of a woman, with or without the father, going to a clinic and a "doctor" dismembering and killing a baby, and removing its fragmented body from the womb. This is of course an abortion and forbidden. Given the Church's clear teaching that life begins at conception, we must also realize, in spite of that fact that it has been heavily veiled from us in modern conversations regarding so-called "contraceptives," that abortions can also take place during the earliest stages of a child's development. This is to say that anytime after the moment of conception, a man-made "contraceptive" has the potential to take the life of a baby.

Contrary to popular belief, there are abortifacient pharmaceuticals and abortifacient devices that do not inhibit a baby from being conceived, but rather kill a baby (also described as an embryo) after conception. Here, I am referencing things like IUDs (hormonal or copper), birth control pills, the "morning after pill" also known as the "plan b" pill, and even so-called barrier methods, such as condoms, etc., with their various chemicals that inhibit, harm, disable, and can even take life in the womb, etc. All of these types of "contraceptives" actually can and do, intentionally, and unitentionally, abort children after conception. The problem is that most people, think that these man-made "contraceptives" inhibit conception. Again, this is not the case. Thus, the Church clearly teaches that man-made "contraceptives" should never be used due to their potential to kill a conceived child (embryo).

As is the case with the general topic of abortion, the Church empathizes with those who have been tricked by the societal teaching on this topic, and the fact that many of these "pharmaceuticals" veil the notion that they take the life of child after conception. We must remember that this is due to the fact that society, broadly speaking, and the Church do not agree on the beginning of life. The Church is clear that life begins at conception, while there are varying views within society. Some agree with the Church, others belive that life begins at the implantation of the child (embryo) in the uterus, others speak in terms of viability outside of the womb, others suggest that it is not until the moment of birth itself that a child is a child.

These two conjoined topics are two of the most important topics of our modern age. We love the world and all of God's people. We love them so much that we must tell them the truth and warn them about these two matters of abortion and the usage of "contraceptives." We must continue to share this light with the world to protect these holy innocent children, and remind people of the most important things in our temporaral life - that of marriage and family. True happiness, and true joy, is found when we live out our purpose and engage in matters of eternity. Marriage and family are not a burden to be avoided, but ultimately the highest and most important purpose of our lives. May the Lord illumine us, and grant us the courage to protect life from the moment of conception to our final breath.

Cremation

“Ashes to ashes and dust to dust” is a common phrase we hear associated with death. This first appeared in the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer in 1549. The phrase “dust to dust” has some biblical origin from Gen. 3:19 and Ecclesiastes 3:20 but the words “ashes to ashes” do not appear anywhere in the bible. As we will see from Alvin Schmidt’s book, “Dust to Dust or Ashes to Ashes? A Biblical and Christian Examination of Cremation”, the scriptures never instruct people to burn dead bodies turning them into ashes (p.67). Thus, the Church teaches clearly against the increasingly common practice of cremation.

History of Cremation

Cremation comes from Latin word “cremare” meaning “to burn” (p.6).
Some historical reasons for cremating the dead were (p.7):

-To cope with fear of the dead.
-To enable easy transportation of bones back to homes or other places.
-To prevent bodies from being stolen by thieves and miscreants.
-Belief that fire freed the soul from wandering and searching.
-Belief that fire purifies the departed person’s soul.
-By the latter part of the fourth century, the burning of human corpses had become increasingly rare in the Roman Empire. Likely, the consistent Christian rejection of cremation, long before Christianity became legal, was having an empire-wide impact (p.18-19).

Cremation begins reappearing in the West following the efforts of Prussian pro-cremationists in 1855, when an international congress of medical experts met in Florence in 1869 contending that earth-burial was unhygienic (p.19). Cremation appealed not only to atheists and freethinkers but it was commonly requested—usually as an act of rebellion by Spiritualists, Theosophists, Unitarians, Universalists, anti-clerics and anti-church types (p.30). In 1875 the Cremation Societys in England and New York are formed (p.20). Cremation rates in United States have increased dramatically over the last several decades, from .003% in 1900, .04% in 1920, 3.5% in 1960, to 27% in 2001 and are expected to rise to 40% by year 2010 (p.21).

What is Cremation?
Cremation is not a completely accurate term for the burning of a departed person. Human bones do not burn because they contain about 60% inorganic, non-combustible matter (p.23). Thus, the unburned bone portions are pulverized in today’s crematoria by a grinding process that reduces them to small granules resembling dried fertilizer pellets, the latter comprising at least half of the total remains. Sometimes a white colored substance is added to make the ashes look more attractive (p.24). As a result of package leakages, UPS and FedEx refuse to transport ashes of cremated bodies. Sometimes, human ashes are mixed with ashes from another person or other sources.

Burial in Ancient Judaism

The Hebrews/Israelites in the Old Testament era lived and were surrounded by pagan societies: Canaanites, Amorites, Edomites, Hittites, Philistines and others. Through the prophets, God frequently warned the Israelites not to adopt the pagan values, beliefs, or practices of those societies such as worshipping pagan polytheistic gods, marrying pagan wives, engaging in homosexual practices, eating unclean food, sacrificing infants, and making graven images of pagan idols (p.31).

In the OT, earth burial was the norm for treating departed persons. Cremation was used only as punishment and humiliation for those who engaged in grievous, sinful acts as recorded in Joshua 7:15; Leviticus 21:9; 20:14. Cremation was also an instrument of God’s wrath as He destroyed certain peoples by fire as recorded in Numbers 11:1-3; 16:35; Joshua 7:15,24-26; 2Kings 1:10-12 and famously the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:24 (p.35-36). The Lord says through the prophet Amos, “For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath, because he burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king” (2:1-2). This is argued as a clear denunciation of cremation. (p.37) The Israelites treated the body of a dead person with great respect by closing the eyes (Gen.46:4); washing the body (Acts 9:37); draping a napkin over the dead person’s face (John 11:44); anointing with aromatic spices (Lk.23:56; 24:1; Jn.19:40) and wrapping with linens (Mt.27:59; Mk.15:45; Lk.23:53; Jn.19:39-40).

Christian arguments against Cremation

Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ died on the Cross and was buried. (Nicene Creed) We should imitate Jesus. Everyone will be bodily resurrected in the Second Coming of Christ. Cremation is a denial of the bodily resurrection. The human body is a sacred sanctuary even after physical death. Cremation with God’s blessing is never mentioned in the Old Testament. We must not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2) especially as cremation becomes more common.

Benefits of Earth Burial

Cemeteries provide consecrated ground for survivors to visit the graves and honored loved ones. These visits reminded survivors of the brevity and uncertainty of their own lives and our inevitable destination to leave this world and meet our Lord (p.28). Studies show that survivors of the departed who are cremated express less grieving and weeping at time of funeral, rarely visit the site where their relatives or loved ones are kept, especially with those whose ashes are scattered.

Relics of the Saints

It is well known among church historians that the early Christians fervently opposed infanticide, child abandonment, abortion and suicide because they believed in the sanctity of the human being. In their minds, the sanctity of the human body did not come to an end when a person died. They saw the human being as the crown of God’s creation, for man was made in the image and likeness of God (Gen.1:27) (p.49). “The saints, during their earthly lives, were filled with the Holy Spirit. And when they fulfill their course, the grace of the Holy Spirit does not depart from their souls or their bodies in the tombs” (St. John of Damascus). Cremation denies and deprives us of the sacred tradition and benefits of the presence of saintly holy relics.

St. Paul emphasizes the Epistle reading from the 9th Sunday of Matthew: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy and you are that temple” (1Cor.3:16-17). He repeats this again later, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which have from God? You are not your own” (1Cor.6:19). So, even though we may not have attained a level of saintliness like some of our spiritual predecessors, nevertheless, God’s Holy Spirit lives and dwells within us.

Conclusion

Cremation is the denial and purposeful destruction of God’s human temple. As follower’s of Christ, we are not dualists or spiritualists who believe that the material world is inherently evil and to be despised. Rather, as Christians, we believe in the inherent goodness of the material world, especially our human bodies. Together, our body and soul, are created in God’s image and likeness. We are called to redeem and transfigure the creation to its original glory and beauty by continually resisting sin and temptation, repenting of our transgressions, and opening our hearts, minds and bodies to the indwelling presence of God’s divine grace through His only-begotten Son and live-giving Holy Spirit.

Because the Orthodox Faith affirms the fundamental goodness of creation, it understands the body to be an integral part of the human person and the temple of the Holy Spirit, and expects the resurrection of the dead. The Church considers cremation to be the deliberate desecration and destruction of what God has made and ordained for us. The Church instead insists that the body be buried so that the natural physical process of decomposition may take place. The Church does not grant funerals, either in the sanctuary, or at the funeral home, or at any other place, to persons who have chosen to be cremated. Additionally, memorial services with kolyva (boiled wheat) are not allowed in such instances, inasmuch as the similarity between the “kernel of wheat” and the “body” has been intentionally destroyed. (http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8083.asp)

Page number quotations from: Dust to Dust or Ashes to Ashes? A Biblical and Christian Examination of Cremation by Alvin J. Schmidt, Regina Orthodox Press 2005.

Divorce

The Church admits divorce and remarriage as a concession to human frailty and imperfection. These concessions reflect the Church’s pastoral concern for wounded souls and Her refusal to abandon divorced persons in their sin, failure, weakness, distress, dilemma and pain. Today, the Church allows three attempts by people at establishing a true marriage. A fourth marriage is absolutely forbidden. Clergy can marry only once and this must be prior to ordination. For people being married for a second or third time, a special service exists that is penitential, more somber and subdued in character. In this way, the Church reminds all that one lasting marriage is the Christian norm. See related scripture Matt 19.3-12, 1Cor. 7.1-7,11.

The parish priest must exert every effort to reconcile the couple and avert a divorce. However, should he fail to bring about reconciliation, after a civil divorce has been obtained, he will transmit the petition of the party seeking the ecclesiastical divorce, together with the decree of the civil divorce, to the Bishop and his appointed group of clergy. The petition must include the names and surnames of the husband and wife, the wife’s surname prior to marriage, their addresses, the name of the priest who performed the wedding, and the date and place of the wedding. The petitioner must be a member in good standing with the parish through which he or she is petitioning for divorce.

Pornography

An essay on this topic is forthcoming.