Editorial Foreword

We offer the present reflection to our many Roman Catholic readers, our Protestant and Anglican readers, our Orthodox readers, and all of our readers of good will, whether Christian or not. The clergy sex abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church—with its latest chapter in the grand jury report from Pennsylvania—weighs heavily and painfully on all Christians everywhere, regardless of our particular ecclesial affiliation. Not one of us has grounds to cast stones at the Roman Church, because not one of us belongs to a church that is institutionally sinless. All of our churches stand in need of repentance, healing, and reform through the collaboration of human initiative with divine grace. 

Le Sacré Cœur (The Sacred Heart). Maurice Denis. 1916.

In the last few weeks, the ongoing scandal of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has once again become front page news, with the publication of accusations against Theodore McCarrick, and the release of the report of the Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into sexual abuse in the dioceses of that state.

I have recently become the associate to the provincial superior of the Jesuits of Canada. In that new role, it is my responsibility to review and supervise the policies and practices of our community for the protection of vulnerable persons. But for the last fifteen years, in my work as a theologian, I was tasked with preparing young men and women for ordained and lay ecclesial ministry. In that context, I trained these future ministers to conduct themselves professionally, to respect boundaries, and to recognize their power in a ministry relationship so as to exercise fiduciary care for the other. I have made sure that they understand their responsibilities to report abuse to the proper civil and ecclesial authorities. My students know what they need to do to exercise good self-care, and they can recognize in themselves the need for supervision in difficult situations. Read More

Liturgy and Byzantinization in Jerusalem
Daniel Galadza
Oxford UK: Oxford University Press, 2018

This work fills a much needed void in our understanding of the liturgical tradition in Jerusalem. It focuses on the recognition of a unique rite in Jerusalem and the surrounding region, and on where and when the transformation of the rite evolved to conform to that in Constantinople—a process that the author calls Byzantinization.

The author bases his research on a wide range of early manuscripts, which are often written in Armenian or Georgian, that have maintained testimony to the ritual practices in Jerusalem prior to its conformity to those in Constantinople, completed by the 12th/13th centuries. He also examines secondary sources for testimonies regarding the liturgical practices in Jerusalem, such as the writings of St. Cyril of Jerusalem and the travel journals of Egeria. He stresses the importance of considering the calendar and lectionary as well as priestly service books, or euchologia.

The book is an academic work. Sections of it are given to addressing the details of such things as lectionaries and calendars, which some may find a little dry. He provides a number of useful tables to illustrate the evidence. Nevertheless, he does not get heavily buried in such sections, but uses them to provide just enough evidence to illustrate his argument. Thus the book flows well in developing the topic. Read More

Richard Vytniorgu

I remember when I told my mother I preferred men; I had to repeat it several times. In her mind I would obviously get married one day and give her some beloved grandchildren. And then she asked me what actually happened – how did two males have sex together? I mean, how could they? I could hear the cogs turning over cyberspace.

But I’d been warned. My friend Cosmin told me they wouldn’t understand, especially in a rural area like Bukovina. It wasn’t so much that Romanians are vehemently homophobic and intolerant of same-sex relationships, as in Serbia and parts of Russia, for example. But rather that many Romanians, especially outside of Bucharest, simply aren’t familiar with the open expression of alternative sexualities.

Of course, there’s a correlative reason why many Romanians are suspicious of homosexuality, and that’s the way many perceive the Church — against the ‘sin of Sodom’. Throughout history, Eastern Orthodox churches have colluded with the governments of the nation states in which they are rooted, and at times this relationship between Church and State borders on the incestuous. It’s highly convenient for the State if the Church encourages attitudes which fit with its own political agenda.

During the Ceaușescu era, the policy of nation building in Romania took on the new proportions in which the infamous Decree 770 was anchored: contraception and abortion were banned in order to increase population growth. The age-old tendency to superimpose sexual mores on procreation was thus cemented, and in rural areas of Romania, where life was in many ways better under the socialist regime than it is currently, there seems to be a tacit and sometimes overt consensus that women birth babies and men demonstrate their manhood by making them. Read More

Orthodoxy in Dialogue’s readers are urged to read the present article in conjunction with the following:

1. “The Russian Orthodox Church, the Law, and Family Violence” – Lena Zezulin, The Wheel 
2. “Beat Her When You Are Alone Together”: Domestic Violence in the Russian Tradition, Past and Present” – Nadieszda Kizenko, Public Orthodoxy
3. “Is the Russian Orthodox Church Pushing Battered Women into Feminism?” – Lena Zezulin, Public Orthodoxy
4. “On ‘Orthodox’ Wife-Beating and О «Православном» избиении жены” – Giacomo Sanfilippo, Orthodoxy in Dialogue
5. “Notes to Protestants from an Orthodox Priest – Ditch the ‘Honey Do’ List” and “Feminazi Toenails, the Noxious Odors of Feminist Feet, and Ending the Conversation When You Don’t Like the Way Your Wife Talks to You” – Father Joseph Gleason, Orthodoxy in Dialogue
6. “St. Paul on Marriage: A Brief Response to a ‘Priest in Russia’” – Giacomo Sanfilippo, Orthodoxy in Dialogue
7. “How to Attract a Christian Spouse — Marriage Advice from a Christian Dad” and “Attractiveness: Beauty Is Not Just on the Inside”  (note especially the need of “godly men” to find a young, pretty, and submissive wife) – Al Blazek, Russian Faith: Christian Renaissance  
8. “Ukraine Recognizes Sex without Consent as Rape, Criminalizes Domestic Violence” – Oleg Sukhov, Orthodoxy in Dialogue

Campaigners say sharp decline is due to new law deterring women from contacting police

“To beat means to love. 143 countries in the world have laws against domestic violence.” (Photo by Vladimir Gerdo/TASS)

Russian women suffering domestic violence are being deterred from going to the police since its partial decriminalisation last year, campaigners have claimed after a dramatic fall in reported incidents.

The state statistics, released in July, reveal that the number of cases of domestic violence reported to the police in 2017 almost halved since physical abuse became punishable by a fine rather than time in prison. Read More