An Orthodox View on Inter-cultural Marriages Spiritual Day – Leeds

Points to be covered: 1)Introduction 2)Intercultural Vs Interfaith Marriages. 3) Personhood 4)The Orthodox marriage life 5)Eucharistic Bon 6)Advices

1. The Aim of Orthodox Teaching  The Aim of all religious teaching in the Orthodox Church is to introduce the Child/adult into the Church, to integrate him into her life – the life of Grace, communion with God, love, unity and spiritual progress towards eternal salvation, for such are the essential aims of the Church. Fr Schemamann p23 (Liturgy and Life)

St Gregory the Theologian  In our living together we are one another’s hands, ears, and feet. Marriage redoubles our strength, rejoiced our friends, causes grief to our enemies. A common concern makes trials bearable.

2. Intercultural Vs Interfaith Marriages.

Believer-unbeliever marriages  3 Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. 4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods…. Deut 7:3,4

Believer-unbeliever marriages  14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?.. 2 Cor 6:14-16

The Personhood

The fallen personhood !!!  And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” Gen 2:24  Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Gen 3:12

Father Persnophious  The Individual is growing in a perverted way. He moves toward himself in a selfish progress which is dominated by the self love above anything else, which leads to death. For he takes of himself and gives to himself, and he does not allow any fellowship except when it enriches his selfishness only.

The Orthodox way of Life

 The Christian life is the life of God accomplished in men by the Spirit of Christ. Men can live as Christ has lived, doing the things that he did and becoming sons of God in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, once more, the Christian life is a Trinitarian life. Orthodox life

Marriage  In marriage the unity of two into one makes the new unity a reflection of the unity of the Trinity, and the unity of Christ and the Church. For the family of many persons united in one truth and love is indeed the created manifestation of the one family of God’s Kingdom, and of God Himself, the Blessed Trinity.

The Eucharistic Bond

St. Cyril of Alexandria  As two pieces of wax fused together make one, so he who receives Holy Communion is so united with Christ that he is in Christ, and Christ is in him.

St Augustine  "I (Christ) am the food of full- grown men. Grow and you shall feed on me. But you shall not change me into your own substance, as you do with the food of your body, instead you shall be changed into me “. Confessions, VII 10 (PL 32, 742) ed & trs. R.S. Pine-Coffin, Penguin 1971, p. 147.

Warnings

Advices if you go for it 1)Choose one Church to Attend 2)Be Ready to Make Sacrifices 3)Consider your marriage is your homeland 4)Keep a positive attitude 5)Know Each Other’s Culture! 6)Be Accountable 7)Know What Both Cultures Value 8)Identify Adaptation Versus Core Value Changes