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Weigh Carefully the Times
Let not those who seem worthy of credit, but teach strange doctrines, fill thee with apprehension. Stand firm, as does an anvil which is beaten. It is the part of a noble athlete to be wounded, and yet to conquer. And especially, we ought to bear all things for the sake of God, that He also may bear with us. Be ever becoming more zealous than what thou art. Weigh carefully the times. Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible, yet who became visible for our sakes; impalpable and impassible, yet who became passible on our account; and who in every kind of way suffered for our sakes.
(Epistle of Saint Ignatius to Saint Polycarp, 3)
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- Moscow Patriarch Speaks on Meeting with Pope and L...
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- Magdi Allam on Life and Death Cultures - John Allen
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Piotr Ilyich Kamenev: This is you. Political prisoner 103592R, Kiril Pavlovich Lakota. All of you is here, from the day you were born until now. Except for the answer to one question. What have you learned in twenty years of confinement?
Kiril Lakota: That is a big question, Piotr Ilyich.
Piotr Ilyich Kamenev: The answer is important to me, you know.
Kiril Lakota: What I have learned? I have learned that without some kind of loving a man withers like a grape on a dying vine.
Piotr Ilyich Kamenev: Is that all?
Kiril Lakota: [Chuckles] I am trying to learn more.
(The Shoes of the Fisherman, 1968 MGM)
3 comments:
Hi, Father,
I'm a Latin-rite Catholic who just happened upon your blog and saw that you posted this video. I'm assuming that all Eastern Catholics don't allow contraception. Why is this different in the Eastern Orthodox perspective? Several of my closest friends are Orthodox and in discussion with them they seem unable to give good theological reasons for the allowance of contraception in certain circumstances. Is it a defect in theology or is it just an area of thought that hasn't really been developed? It seems counter-intuitive in the light of the East's beautiful theology of marriage and mystical union. Any comments you could give would be appreciated :)
Dear Anonymous:
Thanks for the comments!
The Orthodox Church officially held the same position as the Catholic Church until the 1970's. Since that time the Orthodox position has become somewhat uncertain. In a 2005 interview on Pope Benedict conducted soon after his election, Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev, a representative of the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, was quoted as saying the following:
As far as the Catholic Church as such is concerned, I hope that it will continue to preserve its traditional social and moral teaching without surrendering to pressures from the ‘progressive’ groups that demand the ordination of women, the approval of the so-called ‘same-sex marriages,’ abortion, contraception, euthanasia, etc. There is no doubt that Benedict XVI, who has already made his positions on these issues clear, will continue to oppose such groups, which exist both within the Catholic Church and outside it.
Yet, other sources maintain a less coherent view:
The possible exception to the above affirmation of continuity of teaching is the view of the Orthodox Church on the issue of contraception. Because of the lack of a full understanding of the implications of the biology of reproduction, earlier writers tended to identify abortion with contraception. However, of late a new view has taken hold among Orthodox writers and thinkers on this topic, which permits the use of certain contraceptive practices within marriage for the purpose of spacing children, enhancing the expression of marital love, and protecting health.
However, note the following link.
Why some of the Orthodox Churches have softened their stands on this vital issue is, to me, a mystery and a sorrowful shame.
The Eastern Catholic Churches refuse to compromise on these issues. John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body clearly explain the orthodox view of Christian anthropology. Contraception not only prevents the conception of a human life, it demeans the humanity of the couple who practice it.
Father,
Thank you very much for your thoughts and the resources! When I first encountered Eastern theology of marriage, etc. it very much reminded me of the Theology of the Body as well...that's why I was so disheartened when some of my Orthodox friends told me that the issue of contraception was left up to the pastoral discretion of the priest and unfortunately some of those priests allowed it.
Do you see any way that this issue could be clarified and corrected at large given Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology and thought?
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