My brothers and sisters in the Orthodox Church who excoriate my attempts to develop a theological and spiritual vision of same-sex love accuse me of promoting sexual promiscuity and rejecting the ascetical nature of our common life in Christ.

In August 2016 I announced on Facebook that I was about to begin doctoral studies in Orthodox theology, sexuality, and gender. Between then and now, a growing number of Orthodox Christians in the US and Canada who identify somewhere along the LGBTQ spectrum—or their parents, in some instances—have reached out to me for emotional and spiritual support. The pace of these contacts quickened after the publication of my “Conjugal Friendship” on Public Orthodoxy in May 2017, followed three months later by the launch of Orthodoxy in Dialogue.

These men and women of all ages contacted me because they trusted no priest to hear them without judging them. Case in point: An Orthodox individual in a committed same-sex relationship assured his priest that the relationship was fully celibate. The priest responded I don’t believe you and excommunicated the man. 

In October 2016 a monk wrote to me, a convert with a devotion to St. Benedict and some Western forms of monastic prayer. He called himself “a proud gay man.” He was indulging compulsively in internet porn and—when away from the monastery on assigned business—frequent encounters for anonymous sex. He had a pseudonymous Facebook account where he posted things related to sex. While he loved his life in the monastery, he struggled with temptations to abandon it to find himself a boyfriend. He had reached the very threshold of giving up. He was justifying his sexual immorality to himself. Read More

The new Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Chicago, Nathanael, was enthroned at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Saturday, March 24th at a ceremony with hundreds of faithful in attendance.

The Greek-born clergyman who spent many years studying, ministering and researching matters pertaining to young people, addressed the matter of youth involvement in the Greek Orthodox Church during his enthronement address.

Specifically, Nathanael referred to the marches taking place throughout the nation, including a few miles from the Cathedral where the enthronement was taking place.

Today, millions of young people are taking to the streets of cities and towns around the worlds, they have even gathered just a short distance from our Cathedral. The young people are marching in the streets because they demand that their lives and safety become a priority for those in positions of authority. It is daunting to consider that these young people, our young people, are not marching to church to find refuge or a place to voice their concerns. They sadly take to the streets because they feel that no one cares about them in their homes or in their schools, or other familiar places, yes including the church. I know that we all desire to do the best we can for our youth, but as a unified Metropolis family, we must find new ways to engage them. It is not enough for us to issue invitations and passively wait for them to arrive at our doorsteps, it is our responsibility to go to them, yes even if it means joining them in the streets. Read More

He who loves not the child on the streets whom he has seen cannot love the child in the womb whom he has not seen.

(1 Jn 4:20b paraphrased)

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Annunciation. 12th century. Sinai.

The beginning of spring has come. Nature is awakening. Some parts of the Christian world are already enjoying it, while others are still dreaming of the bright, blossomy days to come. But today, March 25, all who love Christ are united in celebration of the beginning of Renewal and Salvation. Rejoice! says Gabriel. And rejoice we do.

[On the Old Calendar the Annunciation falls on April 7, Holy Saturday this year.]

The Annunciation icon is in the centre of our churches today, adorned with lilies, venerated by faithful worshippers. It is no secret that most of the Annunciation icons are inspired by the Apocrypha, particularly by the Protoevangelium of James (chapters 10-12) and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (chapters 8-9). This is how the presence of the throne, the spindle with purple yarn, and sometimes the well and the pitcher in any icon or a wall painting can be explained. Read More