A bill to legalise euthanasia will be introduced into Victorian Parliament in the second half of 2017. Premier Daniel Andrews was previously against euthanasia but has since changed his mind. (It’s unfortunate how often this happens with our politicians these days.) Government and opposition MPs will be allowed to vote on the bill according to their conscience, which means that you can help keep Victoria free from the ravages of euthanasia legislation.
‘Euthanasia’ comes from two Greek words (eu - good, thanatos - death) which means ‘good death.’ The Orthodox Christian perspective is that the only good death is one in which a person approaches the end of his or her life: in the spirit of moral and spiritual purity, in hope and trust in God, and as a member of His Kingdom. Yet today this word has been distorted to mean something entirely different.
The following thoughts from an essay by Anthony Esolen for the Wetherspoon Institute on the topic “Where is the Virtue?” is a brilliant examination of today’s Western culture and its current attitude to sex. Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite: Our culture has become soft. We suppose that sex is too trivial to require virtue, yet we also believe it is so significant that to suggest any restraint upon its consensual exercise is an affront to the most important fount of human dignity...
It is amazing what Orthodox Clergy get up to these days! There have been violent clashes between police and protesters in Kiev, Ukraine this week. All of this, however, was temporarily brought to an end when the Kiev-Caves Lavra Fr. Gabriel, Fr. Melchisedek, and Fr. Ephraim stood on Grushevsky Street in Kiev, getting in between the protestors and the Ukrainian special police force “Berkut.” The priests braved bullets and walked into no-man’s land between pro-European Union integration protesters and President Viktor Yanukovych’s riot police.
The Government has announced that it is to subsidise abortion drug RU486. I am very concerned about the dangers for women, especially young women who are looking for a “cheap way out” of a problem. There are serious question marks over the health impacts on women of this drug. Let’s look at why this is. Abortion Drugs: Russian Roulette In 2010, a Melbourne woman tragically died from infection after taking RU486.
When I was an Anglican priest I once asked my Anglican Bishop if I could invite someone to our parish to speak about creation from the Christian and biblical perspective. To my amazement he refused to grant permission and told me that I “should be more open-minded!” Alas, the government in the United Kingdom is following along the same path, perhaps even with the blessing of the Bishops of the Church of England?
One of my sisters, Penelope Anne — or Penny for short — has just died at the relatively young age of 61. She had been battling a very aggressive cancer for three and a half years. After two lots of chemotherapy, both of which almost killed her, she decided not to have any more. The doctors didn’t expect her to reach her 60th birthday. When she did, the whole extended family joined her to celebrate.
This excellent letter was written by Father Alexander Schmemann (1921–1983) to an Episcopal friend on the topic of the ordination of women. Given the announcement in the media about the ordination of the first woman bishop in the Anglican Church in Australia, it is salutary to read Schmemann’s words again. They were written over 30 years ago and yet they remain vital. A letter written by Orthodox priest Fr. Alexander Schmemann: Dear Friend,
The Orthodox faith teaches that as souls before God women and men stand equal. Women are not “second class citizens” in the Kingdom of God. They can and should take an active role in the life of the Church; indeed the Church’s life would be immeasurably impoverished without their contribution. We do not however, confuse equality before God with ‘equality’ or sameness of earthly roles. We believe in the headship of the male and accept the traditional teaching of the Church that reserves the Priesthood to men.
Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev - The Need to Act Bishop Hilarion, who is Russian Orthodox, was born in Moscow, studied at Oxford, and is presently the Russian Orthodox Bishop for Central Europe based in Vienna, Austria Tuesday, May 09, 2006 by Dr. Robert Moynihan INSIDE THE VATICAN: A major conference involving Catholics and Orthodox is scheduled to take place in Vienna in early May. Can you tell us something about the background of this conference, and its chief purpose?