The official statement of the Church on homosexuality

On 20 February 2011, the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community opened their own church in Donetsk. This community professes adherence to the Christian faith. In reality, however, they deny the fundamental articles of the moral code contained in the Bible and the very essence of the Christian faith. They do not call a sin a sin and refuse to repent.

The orthodox Catholic Bishops’ Synod of the UOGCC is aware of its responsibility before the whole Christian world for the defence of the Gospel. Therefore, this Synod hereby acquaints the general public with a binding Christian and Biblical position on LGBT activities and attitudes.

1. God called homosexuality (present-day LGBT deviation) an abomination – that means, the most perverse form of sin. Only the Triune God had and has the right to determine what is a sin and what is not. This Holy God condemned homosexuality and called it an abomination once and for all. No one in the world has the power to change the just law of God.

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” (Lev 18:22)

“If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination...” (Lev 20:13)

“Do not be deceived! Neither fornicators, nor idolaters ... nor homosexuals ... will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1Cor 6:9-10)

The main cause of homosexuality, as the Apostle Paul states, is apostasy from God and idolatry (Rom 1:26-27).

2. The LGBT community in various countries around the world tries to group around apostate theologians, cardinals, patriarchs, bishops and priests who support and approve of the perversion of homosexuality. The main aim of this community is to make the society, state authorities and laws declare sexual (LGBT) deviations as natural. Their next aim is to force the Christian Churches, through international institutions and Church apostates, to change their negative attitude towards homosexuality. These trends are a real homodictatorship.

3. The LGBT community wants to force the Christian Churches:

- to declare the LGBT deviation to be natural behaviour,

- to declare a union between two homosexuals or lesbians to be a marriage, even a sacramental one,

- to declare the same-sex couples capable of adopting and bringing up children,

- to support homosexual education in schools,

- to approve a gender view of man, i.e. to declare LGBT perversion to be integral to human nature.

4. The LGBT community together with the apostate theologians, bishops, priests and believers form pseudo Christianity. This perverse trend sharply contradicts the Christian moral and spiritual principles. Therefore it is necessary to classify it as a destructive sect with the spirit of antichrist. This sect corrupts sound mind, decomposes human nature, denies moral and spiritual principles, and is responsible for the spread of paedophilia, AIDS and other diseases.

5. For all these reasons we, Bishops of the Synod of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church, make a binding declaration on the basis of the law of God:

- Homosexuality is an abomination according to the words of the living God, and as such it is condemned by Him once and for all.

- From a human point of view, homosexuality is perverse sexual pathology (mania) which disintegrates the human mind.

- Gay and lesbian couples have never been and will never be recognized by the Church of Christ as married couples, because it contradicts the teaching of Christ as well as common sense.

- These couples are not able to bring up children, because their view of sexuality and of children is perverted and destructive.

- Adoption of children by gays and lesbians is a crime against God and people.

- The rumours spread by LGBT people that the centurion Cornelius and other saints were homosexuals are blasphemy against God and the devil’s lie. It is a punishable crime against God and a sin against the Holy Spirit. These false beliefs of LGBT persons profane the Christian faith and must be condemned by every moral system of government because they cause moral and spiritual decay of the individual, the family and the entire nation.

- Positive attitudes of the Lutheran, Anglican and Episcopal Churches towards homosexuality are non-Christian and are a sign of apostasy. Every Church which approves of homosexuality, so-called homosexual marriages, especially among the clergy, cannot be called a Christian Church but a synagogue of Satan.

6. Every theologian, cardinal, patriarch, bishop, priest or believer who openly practises or approves of homosexuality (so-called gay and lesbian marriages, support for homosexual education in schools, LGBT sexual deviation viewed as integral to human nature) is automatically excluded from the Mystical Body of Christ, from the Church!

Every bishop today who is silent on promotion of homosexuality has betrayed Christ!

7. The orthodox Catholic Bishops’ Synod of the UOGCC, on the basis of God’s Word, likewise condemns promotion and popularization of homosexuality. This concerns promotion of so-called gender equality in the mass media, culture, education, and in all spheres of society. We condemn the resolutions of the UN, the EU and the Council of Europe which promote homosexuality as a human right and a political priority. They thus expose an overwhelming majority of sober-minded people of this planet and of the European continent to discrimination and put them outside the law. These international institutions fully answer before the people and especially before God for all disastrous consequences ensuing from promotion of homosexuality. This is a real crime worthy of condemnation. These institutions have become openly anti-Christian and prepare the genocide of humanity.

Bishops’ Synod of the UOGCC

                     + Samuel OSBMr

                     + Elias OSBMr

                     + Markian OSBMr

                     + Methodius OSBMr

                                                                                                                              Lvov (Ukraine), 3rd March 2011

Address: Synod of the UOGCC, 3 Sosnova St., Lvov - Bryukhovychi, 79491, Ukraine

www.uogcc.org.ua, www.community.org.ua; pidhirci.community@gmail.com