An Open Letter to the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America

After reading this report (thanks to Raphael who posted to the link to this report on his blog.) I felt the need to contact the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America.

Bless, Masters.

Your Beatitude, Your Eminences, and Your Graces of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, I’ve never written a letter to a bishop, let alone a synod, so please forgive me if I am not using the right forms of address, or if writing to you in this way is a violation of protocol. Any failure in those regards is do to my ignorance, not to any lack of respect or love. I am not anyone important, but I am your son. I am a member of Holy Trinity Cathedral in San Francisco but I am not writing on behalf of the parish or anyone in the parish. This letter is only from me, no one else.

I have never been happy about the OCA being a members of the NCC but I just figured the Orthodox were trying to get the other members of the NCC to repent, and bring them into the Church. But today I read about the National Council of Churches’ conference on the “religious right” that took place on April 29 & 30 of this year. (I am enclosing a copy of the article I read. It is taken from the website of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.)

The article quotes several speakers at the conference. Some of the errors made by conference speakers were:

- Equating President Bush with “the evil”

- Equating American electoral politics with “Hitlarian tactics”

- Equating living in the United States with living in a police state.

But those are just little annoyances and insults designed to enrage a crowed. The dangerous things that were said, the words that can cause real damage to our mission of evangelizing this continent are the words of two speakers, Joseph Hough and Joan Boaker.

In disobedience to St. Paul’s instructions Joan Boaker spoke treasonous words, promoting riot and anarchy. We Orthodox should have no part of this. We are not political. We honor the Caeser no matter who the Caesar is, even if the Caesar is Nero, or Caligula, or Decius. We do not “shut down the government”; governments are God’s ministers. The Holy Prophet Samuel taught us that “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft”, yet the NCC sponsored her speech. Why are we a member of this vile organization?

Joseph Hough mocked the Southern Baptists for their support of the Christian teaching that homosexuality is a sin. But on this issue, at least, the Southern Baptists agree with the Church. But the NCC sponsored Mr. Hough’s cruel speech; a speech that teaches that there is no need for the homosexual to repent of his sin, thus consigning the homosexual to Hell. This is not love for the homosexual; this is hatred for the homosexual and all humanity. This tells the homosexual that there is no need to repent; that there is no hope for him; that he is trapped in his tortured life. Would we say that to the glutton, to the thief, to the prostitute? God, may it never be! We proclaim life, not death. Yet we are members of the NCC, which preaches slavery to the passions and death as the normal and good state of things. This is not love. It is pure hatred. Why do we count ourselves among these enemies of humanity?

Several of the people at the conference spoke in support of abortion. And the NCC sponsored their speeches. Why do we lend our name and the dignity of Christ’s church to this group that promotes the murder of children? If it really is an effort to evangelize them, I beg you, my lords, look to the example of St. John the Forerunner. He did not join the party of the Herodians to call Herod to repentance.

Please, lead us out of the NCC. Our membership in that reprehensible organization gives them unwarranted dignity and brings shame on us.

Matthew