SS. Sergius and Bacchus. Constantinople. 6th or 7th century.*

In November 2015 I obtained my MA in Theology from Regis College (conferred by St. Michael’s College under the system in place at the time), one of the member colleges of the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. My thesis, “A Bed Undefiled: Foundations for an Orthodox Theology and Spirituality of Same-Sex Love,” is available for download free of charge at the University of Toronto’s TSpace. It’s gratifying to see that it has been downloaded almost 800 times. My thesis advisor, Father Gilles Mongeau, SJ, has written one of Orthodoxy in Dialogue’s most popular articles.

Dr. John Boswell (1947-1994)

Fully aware of the problems that beset the work of John Boswell—who gained a mass of skeptics and critics among the Orthodox (myself included) with his 1980 Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality and especially his 1994 Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe—I attempted to exercise extreme caution and circumspection when engaging with him. I begin chapter 3 of my thesis as follows (pp. 37-38):

What is a sacrament? On what basis can we recognize with Florensky [in “Letter Eleven: Friendship,” The Pillar and Ground of the Truth: An Essay in Orthodox Theodicy in Twelve Letters, trans. Boris Jakim, Princeton University Press, 1997: 284-330], in the liturgy of adelphopoiesis and in the sanctified relationship that it creates between two men, a sacrament, a holy mystery?

These two questions inform the present chapter. In this way I propose to move the discussion of adelphopoiesis beyond the impasse of the uncritical acceptance of John Boswell’s flawed scholarship versus the equally uncritical dismissiveness of his detractors who ridicule his underlying motive: namely, to explore the possible range of meanings of male pairs in the scriptural, liturgical, and hagiographical witness and their application for us today. This differs in no way from the impetus behind Florensky’s project eighty years earlier, despite the painful contrast between Boswell’s brashness and Florensky’s almost delicate subtlety. Yet to Boswell we owe a debt of sincere gratitude for catapulting this forgotten sacrament into the ecclesiastical, scholarly, and popular consciousness. Read More

Fifty years ago this year, the [Roman Catholic] church restored the permanent diaconate, opening the doors to married clergy who brought and continue to bring with them all the joys, sorrows, and complexities of family life to ordained ministry. In the case of my family, that included first-hand experience with LGBT people. In the fall of 2013, at the beginning of our oldest child’s sophomore year at Georgetown University, she came out as transgender. With that news, my family found itself plunged into questions and issues that surround families of faith with LGBT children. 

If there is one truth that has become evident, it is that the reality transgender people live is miles from public perception. Ongoing legal battles for the transgender community (including over the use of public restrooms) demonstrate how pervasive the misunderstandings and prejudices about gender identity continue to be. 

In the case of the church specifically, a series of formal and informal statements has called into question the very existence of transgender individuals and has warned about “an ideology of gender,” described as an ideology that seeks to eliminate sexual differences in society, thereby undermining the basis for the family. I respect the theology and the good intentions that underlie these statements, but I think they are based on lack of knowledge and experience and false information about transgender individuals.   Read More

Orthodoxy in Dialogue wishes to thank our team of amazing writers around the world. You never fail to offer us meaty fare for reflection and debate on an illimitable range of topics. Without you we could not accomplish the work that we have set out to do.

We especially wish to congratulate the authors of our fifteen most popular articles of 2018. Given the importance that we attach to our ecumenical focus, it pleases us to see Orthodox, Coptic, Eastern Catholic, and Roman Catholic names in the following list.

15th Place

The Case for Constantinople

John Chryssavgis

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14th Place

Juliana Schmemann, My Mother

Serge Schmemann

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13th Place

St. Tikhon’s Seminary Appoints Internationally Known Homophobe as Dean

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12th Place

Father Josiah Trenham and the Southern Poverty Law Center

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11th Place

Review: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Adam A.J. DeVille

Read More

The Moscow Patriarchate—whether in the person of the Patriarch himself or his faithful mouthpiece, the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk—has repeatedly “predicted” bloodshed in Ukraine.

For them, the Ecumenical Patriarch’s restoration of “schismatics” to communion, or the Unification Council, or the imminent Tomos of Autocephaly, or the allegedly imminent seizure of churches and monasteries by the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, or the legislation of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) to require the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine to rename itself accurately, or…etc. etc, etc., can only lead to one outcome: death on a mass scale.

We say “predicted” in quotation marks because their “predictions” read more like a continuous, dog-whistled incitement to bloodshed—a Patriarchal blessing, if you will, to commit fratricide.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has called for peace and non-violence in Ukraine. Metropolitan Epifaniy has pledged that there will be no forcible seizures of church property, and called for love and respect among Ukraine’s Orthodox Christians regardless of jurisdictional loyalties.

The drumbeat for violence and bloodshed in Ukraine comes from one source only: Moscow.

Patriarch Kirill Says Renaming of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate

May Result in Bloody Conflicts

Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill stated that the law on the renaming of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate may lead to the bloody conflicts as TASS reported.

“Obviously, there is some ultimatum: if the church does not change its name, then it will be removed from the register; if the church changes its name then the severe pressure will be put on it, first of all, on the Ukrainian people, on community. Certainly, the enforcement actions for the confiscation of the churches will begin and all events around may result in the bloody conflict,” Kirill said. Read More