My name is Hermione Madsen. I’m an Orthodox Christian, Supiaq Alutiiq, and a trans woman from Kodiak, Alaska — a place where the sea, faith, and ancestral spirit all live close together. I walk the path of both tradition and transformation, seeking to follow Christ with honesty and love. The lives of the saints, especially St. Herman of Alaska, have shaped my heart and given me hope when I felt unseen.
My journey in the Orthodox Church has not been easy. I’ve faced rejection, silence, and even persecution from some who could not see Christ’s image in me. I’ve been denied confession and Communion, and watched the community I love turn away in fear. Yet, even through that pain, I’ve learned that true Orthodoxy is not built on exclusion but on the mercy and compassion of Jesus Himself. His love has never left me — and it is that same love I want to share with others who feel cast aside.
I’m devoted to building an Orthodox community rooted in compassion, truth, LGBTQ acceptance, and the healing love of Jesus. I carry my family’s legacy as the Last Princess of Kodiak, not as a title of power, but as a calling to bring peace, understanding, and renewal. My life is a journey of faith, sisterhood, and becoming ever more the woman God created me to be.
Transgender People and the Orthodox Church: A Call to Compassion and Truth
In our Orthodox tradition, we speak of the Church as a hospital — not a courtroom. A place for healing, not for condemnation. Yet, too often, transgender people have found in the Church not healing, but rejection and silence. I believe we can do better — not by abandoning our faith, but by living it more deeply.
Theological Perspective: Bearing the Image of God in Our Suffering
Every human being, without exception, is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27). That means every person — male, female, intersex, or transgender — bears a sacred dignity that cannot be erased.
For those who experience gender dysphoria — the deep and persistent conflict between their inner identity and their body — this suffering is not imaginary. It’s a very real kind of cross to bear. The Church, as the Body of Christ, is called not to ignore or judge such suffering, but to accompany it with mercy and love.
Orthodox theology teaches that suffering, when united to Christ, can become a place of grace. St. Silouan of Mount Athos reminds us, “Keep your mind in hell and despair not.” The suffering person is never abandoned by God. Gender dysphoria, like any human struggle, belongs at the foot of the Cross — where healing, not condemnation, begins.
As the Orthodox Church in America notes, “There is no life in this world without suffering” (OCA, The Orthodox Faith, Vol. IV: Spirituality, Suffering, and Death). If we truly believe this, then the compassionate response is not rejection, but accompaniment.
Medical Perspective: Recognizing Real Suffering and Real Healing
Major medical and psychological institutions — including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics — recognize that gender dysphoria is a legitimate and serious medical condition. It’s not a passing trend or a form of rebellion.
Research consistently shows that transgender people experience much higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts when rejected or denied care. But when they receive compassionate support and access to gender-affirming care, their mental health improves dramatically.
That doesn’t mean medicine replaces faith — it means medicine, psychology, and theology should work together for healing, not in opposition. The Orthodox Christian view of medicine has always been one of cooperation: we use doctors and medicines because we believe all healing ultimately comes from God.
When a person seeks treatment for gender dysphoria, it isn’t a rejection of God’s creation — it’s often a desperate attempt to live, to survive, and to find peace within that creation.
Biblical Perspective: The Law of Christ Is Love
The Apostle Paul tells us, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). This means we are called not to stand apart from others’ pain, but to share it, to enter into it as Christ did.
Jesus did not avoid those who were considered impure, broken, or outcast. He touched the leper, spoke to the Samaritan woman, defended the adulteress, and healed the centurion’s servant. He met each person where they were — not where others thought they should be.
Rom 8:1 reminds us: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” If Christ Himself did not condemn those struggling with sin and suffering, how can we?
Our truest identity is not found in our gender, or our body, or even our past — it is found in Christ. As St. Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).
So when a transgender person walks into our church, we are not meeting a “problem” or a “debate.” We are meeting Christ in disguise — someone carrying a heavy cross, asking quietly for love, for space, for prayer.
A Church That Heals
The Orthodox Church does not need to abandon its teachings to welcome transgender people. Acceptance does not mean uncritical affirmation of every choice — it means offering a place where people can encounter the mercy of God, the wisdom of the Fathers, and the love of Christ without fear.
Imagine a Church where:
Transgender people are not turned away from confession or Communion simply for existing
Priests listen before they lecture
Communities see transgender people not as “issues,” but as beloved children of God
Healing is sought together — medically, spiritually, and emotionally — with patience and prayer
That kind of Church looks a lot like Christ Himself: wounded, compassionate, truthful, and radiant with love.
Conclusion: Truth and Love Must Walk Together
Some will say, “But God created male and female.” Yes, He did — and He also created a world that is now fallen and complex. Our task as Orthodox Christians is not to simplify the mystery of human suffering, but to bring Christ into it.
Others will say, “Transitioning changes God’s design.” But the Church has always blessed medical healing and transformation — surgeries, prosthetics, organ transplants — all of which change the body for the sake of life. Healing the soul and healing the body are not opposed when done in love and discernment.
The truth of Orthodoxy is never separated from love. As St. John the Theologian said, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
If our theology does not lead us to love, it is not truly Orthodox.
May our Church become a home for every soul seeking Christ — including those who walk the hard and holy road of being transgender. For in loving them, we love Him.
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Jn 13:35
ORTHODOXY IN DIALOGUE 