concerning the decision of the Church of Scotland on a possible ordination of gay people in civil partnership and of the United Protestant Church of France on a possible blessing of the so called same-sex unions.
June 3rd, 2015
On May 16, 2015, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland allowed ordination of gay people in civil partnership and on May 21 voted to continue the study of this matter aimed at an extension of the adopted decision. On May 17, the Synod of the United Protestant Church of France allowed a possibility of blessing the so called same-sex unions.
These decisions of the Protestant Churches of Scotland and France have deeply disappointed the Russian Orthodox Church as they seem incompatible with norms of Christian morality
We state with profound grief that today we have new divisions in the Christian world not only on theological problems, but also on the moral issues.
The Russian Orthodox Church holds the firm position based on Holy Scriptures and has repeatedly declared that the mentioned innovations were inadmissible for moral teaching and thus is ought to reconsider a format of her relations with the churches and associations which trample upon the principles of traditional Christian morality. In 2003, the Russian Orthodox Church suspended contacts with the Episcopal Church in the USA because this Church consecrated an open homosexual as bishop. Similar reasons have brought about the severance of relations with the Church of Sweden in 2005 when it decided to bless the same-sex unions.
During last years we have kept attentive watch over debates in the Churches of Scotland and France. In 2013, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, sent a letter to the leadership of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in which he expressed his anxiety and disappointment over a possibility of ordaining gay people and expressed hope that the consideration of this issue in future would be based on the apostolic tradition. Regrettably, these hopes have not been justified, and the words of warning have not been heard.
Guided by the resolutions of the Bishops’ Council of 2008, saying that ”˜the future of relations with many Protestant communities depends on their faithfulness to the norms of Gospel and apostolic morality kept by Christians over many centuries,’ and of the Bishops’ Council of 2013 saying that ”˜a dialogue with confessions which openly defy the Biblical moral norms is impossible,’ the Department for External Church Relations does not see any prospects in maintaining official contacts with the Church of Scotland and with the United Protestant Church of France.
Elves, this ROC statement is dated June 3, 2015 (03.06.2015 on your link) and not July 3, 2015.
A wise decision a copy of which should be nailed to the door of every Church of Scotland church and cathedral as well as the Episcopal churches here.
I actually do suspect the Scottish Episcopal Church will care and will take notice.
They turned to the East after the reformation to establish an identity vis-Ã -vis the CofE. (Hence the epiclesis, etc).
Axios!
It is a warning to Justin Welby of the consequences which will result from the process he and David Porter have ‘designed’ for the Delphi Technique based ‘Facilited Conversations’ to follow the lead of the Church of Scotland and for which they have decreed that the Church of England will use the document which the Church of Scotland wrote and used to change its doctrine.
It is also a warning to the CofE House of Bishops who have just met of the consequences which will flow from their decisions to go along with the Mengelian brain-washing techniques of this cold calculating Archbishop.
Hubris and nemesis.
resubscribing… I don’t know why the first link in notification emails is to unsubscribe. arrggh
Sorry, Chris Seitz, but the SEC at its General Synod will today take the decision to go ahead with same-sex marriage regardless of what any other church might think.
Feeling lonely in dissenting.
Well, it is likely to have consequences for the SEC within the Anglican Communion given what has been stated, not only for the SEC, but perhaps more serious is the undermining of the witness not to mention safety of Anglicans around the world:
Global South Standing Committee [and see also follow up]
and from here
GAFCON
CAPA
SEC is small, but it has great capacity to do damage to the witness of Anglicans around the world. Those voting today will not pay with their lives for the consequences of their actions.
Prayers for the SEC, and for them to remain supportive of the Anglican witness.
#7. I am sorry to hear that, David. I had heard from a common friend in Fife that Kevin H was doing a good job alienating everyone. Very sad indeed. I was beginning to think the SEC was a rare liberal province with the capacity to move back from the brink.
Latest 2014 figures for SEC [page 67]:
Down from 41,000 in 2007 and 34,804 in 2012
Oh dearie, dearie me.
Another that has embraced sexual immorality and the worship of the Baals and has rejected and turned its back on Christ.