Tirana, January 23, 2024
Photo: tveda.ru
The Albanian Orthodox Church has weighed in on the debate surrounding gay marriage that is especially relevant in its neighboring state of Greece, as the government there intends to legalize both gay marriage and gay adoption, despite protests from the Church.
“What is against nature cannot be made natural by legal provisions,” the Albanian Church states.
It is well-known that the perpetuation of humanity has been based on the existence of two genders and their union. No civilization, religion, or legal system (Solon, Plato, etc.) has institutionalized the cohabitation of homosexuals as marriage. What is against nature cannot be made natural by legal provisions. On the contrary, such a law offends creation. It does not constitute social progress but a conflict with the natural order, a decline. The Church is obliged to clearly articulate the concept and value of marriage, the significance of family and procreation according to its sacred texts and its centuries-old tradition (As declared at the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church in Crete in 2016).
The text The Sacrament of Marriage and Its Impediments from the Council of Crete states:
In the Orthodox Church, marriage is considered to be the oldest institution of divine law because it was instituted simultaneously with the creation of Adam and Eve, the first human beings (Gen 2:23). Since its origin, this union not only implies the spiritual communion of a married couple—a man and a woman—but also assured the continuation of the human race. As such, the marriage of man and woman, which was blessed in Paradise, became a holy mystery, as mentioned in the New Testament where Christ performs His first sign, turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, and thus reveals His glory (Jn 2:11). The mystery of the indissoluble union between man and woman is an icon of the unity of Christ and the Church (Eph 5:32).
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