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Christ is risen!

The following ecclesial entities are represented by the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem: the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem; the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem; the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem; the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Near East; Custody of the Holy Land; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land; the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East; the Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate; the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate; the Greek Melkite Catholic Church; the Maronite Archdiocese of Haifa and the Holy Land; the Syrian Catholic Church; and the Armenian Catholic Church. See the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) website for the names of the bishops and clerics who head each of these respectively.

On April 21, one of Orthodoxy in Dialogue’s readers visited the website of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. He hoped to find a statement on the Derek Chauvin conviction, the overt rise of white supremacy and white nationalism in the US, and the growing epidemic of lethal police brutality against African-American children, women, and men. There was nothing.

On the other hand, he found the Statement of the Executive Committee on the Proposed Equality Act, posted on March 26, 2021. The Executive Committee consists of the following eleven hierarchs:

• Archbishop Elpidophoros (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese)
• Metropolitan Joseph (Antiochian Archdiocese)
• Bishop Matthew (Moscow Patriarchate)
• Metropolitan Gregory (Carpatho-Russian Diocese)
• Archbishop Michael (Orthodox Church in America)
• Bishop Irinej (Serbian Patriarchate)
• Metropolitan Nicolae (Romanian Patriarchate)
• Metropolitan Joseph (Bulgarian Patriarchate)
• Bishop Saba (Georgian Patriarchate)
• Metropolitan Tikhon (Orthodox Church in America)
• Bishop Longin (Serbian Patriarchate)

This report appeared yesterday at Orthodox Christianity. In reprinting it, we at Orthodoxy in Dialogue use this opportunity to reiterate in the strongest possible terms our support for transgender persons and their particular spiritual, social, and emotional needs at every stage of their transition, and for a more dialogical approach within the Orthodox Church than the Moscow Patriarchate’s “no-matter-what-psychologists-surgeons-and-other-specialists-may-say” stance. We pray especially for our transgender brothers and sisters in Christ who find themselves in the Russian Orthodox Church.

“The sex change industry is an industry of deception,” His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk told RIA-Novosti on Saturday, commenting on the Russian Orthodox Church’s decision to prepare a special document on the topic.

The Russian Church cannot accept so-called “sex changes” under any circumstances, the Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations said, no matter what psychologists, surgeons, and other specialists may say.

To develop the document, a separate working group “with the involvement of competent experts” will be created under the auspices of the Commission on theology and Theological Education of the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Met. Hilarion.

“The position of the Russian Orthodox Church on so-called ‘sex changes’ is expressed in the Basis of the Social Concept document. This position is not subject to revision. The Church cannot accept a ‘sex change’ under any circumstances,” His Eminence said.