How much outraged criticism has been directed to the Episcopal Church and the other churches (the first one in the modern times being the Dutch Remonstrant Brotherhood in the eighties) which decided to bless same sex couples! They were – and still are – accused of accepting sin, surrounding to the permissive climate of contemporary times and, of course, betraying the Tradition. Those who fight by means of that last argument are not, or refuse to become, aware that in the church of the first centuries people of the same sex used to be blessed. The ceremony was called adelphopoiesis in Greek, bratotvorenie in Church Slavonic, and ordo ad fraters faciendum in Latin. The author of the translation of the liturgy below, American historian John Boswell , honestly admitted that it’s impossible to speak of gay marriages here, yet he spoke of same sex unions. Honesty requires to add that the Greek Orthodox Church disagrees with this interpretation. It stated that adelphopoiesis was only a kind of an adoption ceremony. Since we are not experts in this field, we don’t intend to get involved into this dispute, and all the more so, because in our opinion these interpretations are not mutually exclusive. We are not of the opinion that the existence of the adelphopoiesis rite means that the ancient church acknowledged and blessed homosexual unions; it would be obvious wishful thinking. Yet, without a doubt, people of the same sex were blessed in this church, and it was prayed for the gift of love and fidelity for them. And this is the deepest essence of a relationship between two persons, regardless of their sex, as well as of the ceremony of their blessing, isn’t it? We took the text from the website of the Old Catholic Church in North America.
Icon of St Sergius and Bacchus by br. Robert Lentz
i.
The priest shall place the holy Gospel on the Gospel stand
and they that are to be joined together place their right
hands on it, holding lighted candles in their left hands.
Then shall the priest cense them and say the following:
ii.
In peace we beseech Thee, O Lord.
For heavenly peace, we beseech Thee, O Lord.
For the peace of the entire world, we beseech Thee, O Lord.
For this holy place, we beseech Thee, O Lord.
That these thy servants, N. and N., be
sanctified with thy spiritual benediction, we beseech Thee, O Lord.
That their love [agape] abide without offense or scandal
all the days of their lives, we beseech Thee, O Lord.
That they be granted all things needed for salvation and
godly enjoyment of life everlasting, we beseech Thee, O Lord.
That the Lord God grant unto them unashamed faithfulness
[pistis] and sincere love [agape anhypokritos], we beseech Thee, O Lord….
Have mercy on us, O God.
“Lord, have mercy” shall be said three times.
iii
The priest shall say:
Forasmuch as Thou, O Lord and Ruler, art merciful and
loving, who didst establish humankind after thine image and
likeness, who didst deem it meet that thy holy apostles
Philip and Bartholomew be united, bound one unto the other
not by nature but by faith and the spirit. As Thou didst
find thy holy martyrs Serge and Bacchus worthy to be united
together [adelphoi genesthai], bless also these thy
servants, N. and N., joined together not by the bond of
nature but by faith and in the mode of the spirit [ou
desmoumenous desmi physeis alla pisteis kai pneumatikos
tropi], granting unto them peace [eirene] and love [agape]
and oneness of mind. Cleanse from their hearts every stain
and impurity and vouchsafe unto them to love one other [to
agapan allelous] without hatred and without scandal all the
days of their lives, with the aid of the Mother of God and
all thy saints, forasmuch as all glory is thine.
iv.
Prayer for Same-Sex Union
O Lord Our God, who didst grant unto us all those things
necessary for salvation and didst bid us to love one another
and to forgive each other our failings, bless and
consecrate, kind Lord and lover of good, these thy servants
who love each other with a love of the spirit [tous
pneumatike agape heautous agapesantas] and have come into
this thy holy church to be blessed and consecrated. Grant
unto them unashamed fidelity [pistis] and sincere love
[agape anhypokritos], and as Thou didst vouchsafe unto thy
holy disciples and apostles thy peace and love, bestow them
also on these, O Christ our God, affording to them all those
things needed for salvation and life eternal. For Thou art
the light and the truth and thine is the glory.
v.
Then shall they kiss the holy Gospel and the priest and one
another, and conclude.
Source: Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe (New York: Villard, 1994)
To bless is always the best thing to do.