{"id":1469983,"date":"2022-05-10T10:59:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T14:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1469983"},"modified":"2022-05-10T10:59:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-10T14:59:39","slug":"the-washington-post-says-the-worlds-second-largest-church-supports-abortion-we-dont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-washington-post-says-the-worlds-second-largest-church-supports-abortion-we-dont\/","title":{"rendered":"The Washington Post Says The World\u2019s Second-Largest Church Supports Abortion. We Don\u2019t.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-washington-post-says-the-worlds-second-largest-church-supports-abortion-we-dont%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1469983&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/05\/Church-scaled.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>The legacy media are as well known for their accurate reporting of religion as I am for my fluent grasp of Indonesian, and for the same reason: Both are foreign languages, completely unrelated to our environment. Yet that lack of familiarity does not stop the media from making erroneous statements about churches with an air of infallibility that would put any pontiff of old to shame. For instance, one of the nation\u2019s leading news outlets has published a piece claiming that the world\u2019s second-largest church\u2019s teaching on abortion \u201cisn\u2019t black and white.\u201d Instead, its leaders believe \u201cit\u2019s theologically wrong to uniformly choose a fetus over a woman.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>All of this flies in the face of the two-millennia-long teachings of Christianity in general and the Eastern Orthodox Church in particular. Yet it forms the basis of Michelle Boorstein\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/religion\/2022\/02\/05\/abortion-rights-jews-orthodox-catholic-prolife-prochoice\/\"><span>article<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201cThe threat to Roe v. Wade is driving a religious movement for reproductive choice,\u201d which states, \u201cAmericans who see a religious case for abortion access try to shift the narrative.\u201d <\/span><span>It began by citing an ordained congregationalist leader who told her church she \u201cnever felt more known and heard and loved by God than when I entered the doors of a Planned Parenthood.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For an encore, she cited the words of the leader of the largest Eastern Orthodox Church body in the United States \u2014 delivered at this year\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/marchforlife.org\/\"><span>March for Life<\/span><\/a><span>. In her defense, her confusion may have stemmed in part from the greater theological confusion <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goarch.org\/-\/march-for-life-2022\"><span>espoused<\/span><\/a><span> by Archbishop Elpidophoros (born in Turkey as Ioannis Lambriniadis), the leader of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe affirm the gift and sanctity of life \u2014 all life, born and unborn. As Christians we confess that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God,\u201d he began. \u201cEvery life is worthy of our prayer and our protection, whether in the womb, or in the world. We are all responsible for the well-being of children. We are their \u2018keepers\u2019 and cannot shirk from our accountability for their welfare.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yet he pivoted. \u201cAt the same time, we also affirm our respect for the autonomy of women,\u201d he continued in his address to the nation\u2019s largest pro-life gathering. \u201cOur Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ assumed human nature through His conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary. She freely chose to bring Him into the world, and God respected her freedom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe march not for coercion,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>These remarks seem more equivocal than his comments when he <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/orthochristian.com\/132099.html\"><span>marched<\/span><\/a><span> with Black Lives Matter protesters \u2014 which he described as \u201c<\/span><span>my duty as a Christian and as a Greek<\/span><span>\u201d <\/span><span>\u2014 following <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/exclusive-what-the-media-didnt-tell-you-about-breonna-taylors-shooting\"><span>the shooting of Breonna Taylor<\/span><\/a><span>. \u201c<\/span><span>It is our moral duty and obligation to uphold the sanctity of every human being,\u201d he <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/greekreporter.com\/2020\/06\/03\/archbishop-elpidophoros-attends-black-lives-matter-protest-in-nyc\/\"><span>told<\/span><\/a><span> BLM in June 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To add to the confusion, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese\u2019s press office <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/orthochristian.com\/144115.html\"><span>retweeted<\/span><\/a><span> a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AggelikiSays\/status\/1484601816293781508\"><span>message<\/span><\/a><span> from a Greek writer named Aggeliki Spanou, which hailed his remarks as endorsing a pro-choice position. \u201c<\/span><span>A hierarch who defends a woman\u2019s right to decide for herself, even if she chooses abortion. So rare in the Church that it ends up [being] moving,\u201d it said<\/span><span> in translation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Together, The Washington Post and writers from around the world have implied the Orthodox Church is pro-choice. This betrays an astonishing ignorance of the teachings of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2017\/11\/08\/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century\/\"><span>second-largest church<\/span><\/a><span>, which has over <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gordonconwell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2019\/04\/StatusofGlobalChristianity20191.pdf\"><span>286 million<\/span><\/a><span> members worldwide, as well as the doctrines of the Christian Church from its earliest days.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>\u2018You Shall Not Practice Witchcraft, You Shall Not Murder a Child by Abortion\u2019<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span>Abortion is condemned by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Didache\"><span>earliest document<\/span><\/a><span> outside the Bible, known as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/fathers\/0714.htm\"><span>Didach\u0113<\/span><\/a><span>, or \u201cTeaching of the Twelve Apostles.\u201d The document, which was likely written at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/04779a.htm\"><span>approximately 100 A.D.<\/span><\/a><span>, describes \u201c<\/span><span>two ways [of life], one of life and one of death.\u201d <\/span><span>It instructs those who wish to avoid the way of death: \u201c[Y]ou shall not commit pederasty \u2026 you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is begotten.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Boorstein described life as \u201c<\/span><span>a process with steps \u2014 not a light switch moment as to when \u2018life\u2019 begins<\/span><span>.\u201d As though anticipating Boorstein\u2019s argument, St. Basil the Great <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2011\/04\/the-fathers-of-the-orthodox-church-on-abortion\/\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span>, \u201cThe woman who purposely destroys her unborn child is guilty of murder. The hair-splitting difference between formed and unformed makes no difference to us.\u201d The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese includes this quotation in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goarch.org\/documents\/32058\/3219264\/cana_student_sheet_8.pdf\/d360a8b8-aa03-42af-80f9-e6e2c1dd67a9\"><span>Sunday School curriculum<\/span><\/a><span> for ninth graders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Similarly, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/fathers\/3814.htm\"><span>Canon 9<\/span><\/a><span> of the Quinisext Council (692 A.D.) \u2014 which the Eastern Orthodox Church <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/orthodoxwiki.org\/Quinisext_Council\"><span>considers<\/span><\/a><span> to have dogmatic authority \u2014 states, \u201cThose who give drugs for procuring abortion, and those who receive poisons to kill the foetus, are subjected to the penalty of murder.\u201d These examples join a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/preachersinstitute.com\/2017\/02\/08\/fathers-orthodox-church-abortion\/\"><span>long list of Church Fathers<\/span><\/a><span> who said abortion may never be permissible.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Contemporary Orthodox Remain Pro-Life<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span>The teaching of the Orthodox Church did not change with the times. The website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese contains a 1985 document by Dr. Stanely S. Harakas, who <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goarch.org\/-\/the-stand-of-the-orthodox-church-on-controversial-issues\"><span>wrote<\/span><\/a><span>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>In some cases the controversial issues can be addressed from long-standing doctrinal, ethical and canonical traditions. Where this is the case, there is little or no debate in the Church. One example is the Church\u2019s position on the legalization of abortion on demand. Since the Church went through the same debate in the early fourth century, it is not difficult to determine \u2018the mind of the Church\u2019 on this issue, and to apply it to the current discussion.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><span>The only time the Orthodox Church will reluctantly acquiesce to abortion is when the preponderance of medical opinion determines that unless the embryo or fetus is aborted, the mother will die,\u201d he concluded. \u201cDecisions of the Supreme Court and State legislatures by which abortion, with or without restrictions, is allowed should be viewed by practicing Christians as an affront to their beliefs in the sanctity of life.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>More recently, in February 2020, the Orthodox Church of Greece <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/greekreporter.com\/2020\/02\/05\/holy-synod-of-the-church-of-greece-rules-abortion-is-murder\/\"><span>issued a statement<\/span><\/a><span> forthrightly expressing that the Church sees an unborn child \u201cas <\/span><span>a complete and integral human being since its conception, and therefore, it considers voluntary abortion as murder and does not accept it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>Paradox vs. Clarity<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span>Archbishop Elpidophoros<\/span><span>\u2019 defenders say he merely engaged in the use of paradox, and \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GDemacopoulos\/status\/1484629131367272448\"><span>not everyone can handle paradox<\/span><\/a><span>.\u201d But four of his brother bishops found his words so concerning that they <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.antiochian.org\/regulararticle\/1184\"><span>issued a statement<\/span><\/a><span> on March 25 \u2014 the day of the feast of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oca.org\/saints\/lives\/1000\/03\/25\/100884-the-annunciation-of-our-most-holy-lady-the-theotokos-and-ever-vi\"><span>Annunciation<\/span><\/a><span>, which celebrates the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oca.org\/orthodoxy\/prayers\/symbol-of-faith\"><span>conception<\/span><\/a><span> of Jesus Christ \u201cof the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary\u201d \u2014 clarifying the Orthodox Church\u2019s position on legalized abortion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201c<\/span><span>The Orthodox Church embraces this paradox of the Incarnation, of the Uncreated becoming one of His creatures<\/span><span>\u201d with the full consent of His Mother, the statement said. Yet an Orthodox Christian analysis requires <\/span><span>\u201c<\/span><span>the clarity that the newly-conceived human \u2014 including the Lord Himself at the moment of His conception \u2014 is a full human. Here, then, the consent of the Theotokos ends, and her duties as a mother begin<\/span><span>,\u201d it said. \u201c<\/span><span>Once she conceived the Lord, she had the sacred responsibility of nurturing and caring for Him, which she fulfilled perfectly.<\/span><span>\u201d The statement was signed by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/antiochian.org\/\"><span>Antiochian Orthodox<\/span><\/a><span> Metropolitan Joseph, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bulgariandiocese.org\/\"><span>Bulgarian Orthodox<\/span><\/a><span> Metropolitan Joseph, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.serborth.org\/\"><span>Serbian Orthodox<\/span><\/a><span> Bishop Longin, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mitropolia.us\/index.php\/en\/\"><span>Romanian Orthodox<\/span><\/a><span> Metropolitan Nicolae.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The group \u201cOrthodox Christians for Life\u201d likewise cited the statement of <\/span><span>Saint Paisios of Mount Athos: \u201cWhen a man disobeys one commandment of the Gospel, he alone is responsible. When, however, something that clashes with the commandments of the Gospel becomes the law of the land, then the wrath of God falls upon the whole nation, that it may be chastened.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>A Concerted Effort to Change Church Teachings on Life and Sexuality<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span>Part of the problem comes from concerted attempts to change the Orthodox Church\u2019s teachings. Boorstein quoted the archbishop\u2019s remarks before citing <\/span><span>George Demacopoulous of Fordham University\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fordham.edu\/info\/23001\/orthodox_christian_studies_center\"><span>Orthodox Christian Studies Center<\/span><\/a><span> (OCSC). Demacopoulous \u201cnoted that abortion is legal in every major Orthodox country<\/span><span>,\u201d she wrote. Boorstein did not mention that the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/100-years-soviet-russia-legalized-abortion-learned\/\"><span>first nation in the world<\/span><\/a><span> to legalize abortion was the Soviet Union, which is hardly known for its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/spectator.org\/its-time-to-bury-the-executioner-lenin-for-good\/\"><span>solicitous posture toward the Orthodox Church<\/span><\/a><span> (although the Communists did <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oca.org\/saints\/lives\/2022\/01\/23\/205310-new-martyrs-and-confessors-of-russia\"><span>produce many Orthodox saints<\/span><\/a><span>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The OCSC has repeatedly tried to have the Orthodox Church liberalize its views on abortion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The Center\u2019s house organ, Public Orthodoxy, published an article titled <\/span><span>\u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/publicorthodoxy.org\/2017\/11\/03\/orthodox-hymnography-gender-binary\/\"><span>Beyond the Binary<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d that asserted, \u201cMuch like gender itself, Orthodox understandings of gender span a spectrum of diverse views.\u201d Fr. John Parker \u2014 who went on to be <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oca.org\/news\/headline-news\/archpriest-john-parker-named-dean-of-st.-tikhons-seminary\"><span>named<\/span><\/a><span> the dean of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/stots.edu\/\"><span>St. Tikhon\u2019s Orthodox Theological Seminary<\/span><\/a><span> \u2014 described Public Orthodoxy as an \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2018\/10\/public-orthodoxy-orthodoxy-in-dialogue-the-wheel-wolves-in-sheeps-clothing\/\"><span>anti-catechism<\/span><\/a><span>\u201d produced by \u201cwolves in sheep\u2019s clothing, forming and shaping false ideas about the reality of our life in Christ.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Demacopoulous\u2019 message on abortion is, \u201cChristian moral teaching isn\u2019t black and white\u201d \u2014 words which carry a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Genesis+3%3A1&#038;version=KJV\"><span>sinister echo<\/span><\/a><span>. But his efforts underline a reality: If the Eastern Orthodox Church already taught these doctrines, there would be no need to change its beliefs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Part of Boorstein\u2019s confusion may stem from Orthodox Christianity\u2019s utter anonymity in the West. Eastern Orthodox Christians in the U.S. number approximately half the population of the American Jewish community and are far less known. Even its stoutest defenders have called the Orthodox Church \u201cthe best-kept secret in America.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And media bias undeniably plays a role in the coverage offered by Jeff Bezos\u2019 publication. Boorstein has also been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/03\/19\/wapo-writer-makes-false-claim-about-ryan-anderson-refuses-to-correct-it\/\"><span>accused of lying<\/span><\/a><span> that conservative scholar Ryan Anderson likened transgenderism to the Holocaust.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But as willful as Boorstein\u2019s misrepresentation may be, one cannot blame the (largely secular) media for misrepresenting the Orthodox Church\u2019s position on abortion when its leaders seem willing to muddy the waters themselves. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The legacy media are as well known for their accurate reporting of religion as I am for my fluent grasp of Indonesian, and for the same reason: Both are foreign<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":1482269,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1469983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1469983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1469983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1482269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1469983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1469983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1469983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}