by Will Cohen In a 2015 address at the University of Munich, Metropolitan John Zizioulas observed that “[t]he agenda of Theology is set by history.” By “history” he meant the concerns and questions particular to a given age, as he underscores in adding, “This was known to the Fathers of the Church who were in…
Continue readingEphesians 5:20-33 as the Epistle Reading for the Rite of Marriage: Appropriate or Problematic?
In modern times the appropriateness of the established Epistle Lesson (Ephes. 5:20-33) in the rite of marriage has been questioned. How is it perceived by the contemporary listener and what does it say about spousal relationships? At a basic level this established passage can be understood within the context of the household code adapted to…
Continue readingSubmission, Sexism, and Head Coverings
by Mark Arey The recent visit of the President and First Lady to the Vatican raised again the question of head coverings for women in the Christian context. Many Christians perpetuate a theology of women’s submission to men that is symbolized by head coverings, based on a Scriptural text (First Corinthians 11:3-16). In 11:5, Paul…
Continue readingMarriage, Family, and Scripture
by Bryce E. Rich, Fr. Robert M. Arida, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, David Dunn, Maria McDowell, and Teva Regule The title of the working document “The Sacrament of Marriage and Its Impediments” appears to promise a meaningful teaching on the spousal relationship. Instead, much of the document is devoted to a particular, modern vision of family. Beginning with the…
Continue readingPastoral Challenges for Marriage in Contemporary Orthodoxy
In preparation for the Great and Holy Council to be held on Crete in June, 2016, the Orthodox bishops have issued a preconciliar document on the sacrament of marriage. The document’s main thrust is to illuminate the core teaching on marriage and its sanctity from the Orthodox perspective. Marriage is a dominical institution reserved for…
Continue readingResponse to the Pre-Conciliar Document on Marriage and Its Impediments
by Fr. Robert M. Arida, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, David Dunn, Maria McDowell, Teva Regule, and Bryce E. Rich The document on marriage does not refer to its long and complex history and accompanying theology. What is offered to the faithful and to the world is a statement that bases marriage on a particular understanding of…
Continue readingReflections on the Document “The Sacrament of Marriage and Its Impediments”
by Rev. Dr. Patrick Viscuso, Perry T. Hamalis, David Heith-Stade, Rev. Dr. Chrysostom Nassis, Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel, and Christos Tsironis According to the theological vision of the Church, the bond of love is to be found at the core of marital life. Marriage is viewed within the framework of love, which is the core…
Continue readingLife-Bearing Love: A Too Risky Vision
by Maria McDowell The upcoming Great Council, decades in the making, is an opportunity for Orthodoxy to present to the world a vision of the fruitfulness of love ripened through relationships in which we are simultaneously co-workers in one another’s deification and co-workers with God through whom all creation bears life. The Synod is an…
Continue readingSexual Purity and the Vocation of Marriage
by David C. Ford, Mary Ford, Rev. Dr. Philip LeMasters, Philip Mamalakis, and Alf Kentigern Siewers “The sacred nature of the God-established union and its lofty spiritual content explain the Apostle’s affirmation in Heb. 13:4. That is why the Orthodox Church condemned any defilement of its purity (Eph. 5:2-5, 1 Thes. 4:4, Heb. 13:4ff)” (Chambesy…
Continue readingA Perspective on Marriage from the Canonical Tradition
by Fr. Alexander Rentel (This essay was originally delivered as a public talk at the June 2015 Fordham/OTSA conference on the upcoming Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church. It was part of a panel on canonical impediments to marriage.) When examining marriage, starting with the liturgy provides an antidote from a legalistic affliction, which is…
Continue readingBlessing Canonically Anomalous Marriages: The Need for Consistency
by Ashley Purpura (This essay was originally delivered as a public talk at the June 2015 Fordham/OTSA conference on the upcoming Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church. It was part of a panel on canonical impediments to marriage.) According to Orthodox canon law and theology, the ideal Christian marriage among laypeople is union between faithfully…
Continue readingModern Challenges to Traditional Orthodox Perspectives on Marriage
(This essay was originally delivered as a public talk at the June 2015 Fordham/OTSA conference on the upcoming Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church. It was part of a panel on canonical impediments to marriage.) It will no doubt be useful for the Council to focus on harmonizing canonical impediments to marriage—especially marriages where one…
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