Patriarch Ilia II: “I said what I had to. And if I had been silent, it would have been shocking”

Tbilisi, March 29, 2016

    

In his sermon after the service in the ancient Georgian capital of Mtskheta, at Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, the primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II spoke on the Anti-Discrimination Act passed in Georgia in 2014 and on so-called "same-sex marriages," thus responding to the accusations against him by the European Commission in its report on racism and intolerance.

“Today we must think deeper on the issues and questions that our country and Church are facing. Nowadays what has always been a sin is regarded by many people as something natural. And it is astonishing that some people now wish to legalize such a sin as ‘same-sex marriages.’ Homosexuality is such a grave sin that it is considered improper to speak about it in church. The very name of this terrible sin should not be pronounced either.

Glory be to God that our people realize and analyze it and do not support it. The process of globalization in the whole of the world is inevitable and we cannot halt it. But we need to choose from this process only what is profitable for our souls and necessary for our people. The Georgian nation will never be able to accept those things that go against Orthodoxy. And it will not accept them,” Patriarch Ilia said.

“I would like to say a few words on the Anti-Discrimination Act. Georgia is a country which has never oppressed anybody. Georgia is a country where everyone always feels free, but there are some things that can never be tolerated. How can unlawfulness be legitimated? Legalization of abominations is a grave sin. This is precisely what I said before.

I said what I had to. And if I had been silent, it would have been shocking. I must speak about it. No believing person can ever accept the so-called Anti-Discrimination Act. I also want to say that some time will pass and we will be surprised and wonder how in the world could we accept this and pass such a law?”

Prepared by Constantine Tsertsvadze

Translated by Dmitry Lapa

Pravoslavie.ru

3/31/2016

See also
Georgian constitution could define marriage as union between man and woman Georgian constitution could define marriage as union between man and woman Georgian constitution could define marriage as union between man and woman Georgian constitution could define marriage as union between man and woman
An article in the Constitution which will define marriage as the union between a man and a woman "will reinforce the already existing explanations contained in the Civil Code," said the Prime Minister. Georgian Patriarchate asks to provide security to human rights activist from LGBT community Georgian Patriarchate asks to provide security to human rights activist from LGBT community Georgian Patriarchate asks to provide security to human rights activist from LGBT community Georgian Patriarchate asks to provide security to human rights activist from LGBT community
The statement says that, despite the fact that the Georgian Orthodox Church "condemns and considers this step (let alone the adoption of a law) to be unacceptable, violence and, naturally, manifestations of violence in its gravest form are also unacceptable." Georgian Constitutional Court receives same-sex marriage lawsuit Georgian Constitutional Court receives same-sex marriage lawsuit Georgian Constitutional Court receives same-sex marriage lawsuit Georgian Constitutional Court receives same-sex marriage lawsuit
Zurab Jorbenadze, head of Rights For All, a Georgian non-governmental organization, said last summer that the association agreement signed between Georgia and the European Union involves formal recognition by Georgia of same-sex marriages.
Comments
George Larin4/1/2016 12:36 am
Only spiritually-bankrupt, post-Christians,who,BTW, appear to make up a majority of the populations within member-States of the EU, would be upset by what the Georgian Patriarch - unequivocally - declared as the Spiritual Father of his overwhelmingly-Orthodox Christian, Georgian Nation. This simple declaration, imbued with love and concern for the future of all of humanity, has, apparently, fallen on deaf ears. The same - ONLY TRUE GOD ! - Who spoke to Abraham at length (Genesis 19:1-29) while His faithful servant Abraham pleaded with Him not to destroy ALL the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah for living as homosexuals, our MERCIFUL CREATOR promised He would not, PROVIDING THERE WOULD BE FOUNG AMONG THEM WERE MERELY TEN INDIVIDUALS ! But there were found only four normally-oriented individuals: Lot, his wife, and their two daughters. The West's mass-media continues to hide the FACT from its peoples that when AIDS first appeared in people, the previously UNKNOWN-IN-HISTORY fatal retrovirus was traced to Africa's green monkeys, a homosexual airline steward, was infected when having sex with one of these infected monkeys We are witnessing the terrible DEATHS of MILLIONS of our fellow humans ANNUALLY for keeping silent about this abominable plague. 'Be sure your sins will find you out."
Ronald A. G. SARKIS3/31/2016 6:57 pm
God bless the Patriarchate.
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