My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF "INTERFAITH" MARRIAGES AND ITS
IMPACT ON THE ORTHODOX FAMILY AND CHILDREN.
"But for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,
because He is holy" (Joshua 24:15).
"Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:
‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation, and every city our house divided
against itself WILL NOT STAND" (Matthew 12:25).
"Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry,
bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity
to the adversary to speak reproachfully" (1 Timothy 5:14).
"And when she and her household were baptized, se
begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to
the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ So she
persuaded us" (Acts 16:15).
"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet
seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the
saving OF HIS HOUSEHOLD, by which he condemned
the work the world and became heir of the righteousness
which is according to faith" (Heberews 11:7).
"Yes, I baptized the household of Stephanas" (1 Cor. 1:16).
"So they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you
will be saved, you and YOUR HOUSEHOLD. Then they spoke
the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed
their stripes, And immediately he and ALL HIS FAMILY
WERE BAPTIZED" (Acts 16:31).
All Orthodox Christians believe that the Orthodox home is e’ kat’ oikon ekklesia which defines the family as a "domestic church," an extension of the local parish where faith is lived daily. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ‘and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock" (Matthew 7:24-25). The Christian home is indeed built on the rock, Who is Christ our God. In the Orthodox Christian home it is Christ who is Master, and He is the center of the household and everything revolves around Him.
According to our Orthodox tradition upon breaking ground of a new home and bless the foundations: "O God Almighty, Who hast made the heavens with wisdom, and hast established the earth upon firm foundations, the Creator and Author of mankind: Look upon thy servant (name), who whom it hath seemed good too set up a house for his dwelling in the dominion of Thy power, and to rear it by building. Establish Thou the same upon a firm rock, and found it according to Thy word in the Gospel, so that neither wind nor flood nor any other thing shall be able to harm it…" The practice of blessing the house and family continues by having the priest blessing it every year following the holy feast of the Epiphany. It is also the Orthodox tradition to have an icon corner with a vigil light which serves as a place for daily prayer, Scripture reading and where you keep holy water, flowers from the epitaphio, palm crosses, incense burner and incense, candles etc. It is also known as the "beautiful corner." This is dedicated, Eastward-facing space for holy icons of Jesus Christ, the Theotokos, patron Saints, alongside prayer ropes (Komboschiny).
Orthodox Christian households are encouraged to live out their faith through fasting, reading the Holy Scripture, and using holy water and oil, making the home a place of sanctification. The home church is not an autonomous entity by an extension of the Sacramental life of the parish. The term "domestic church" stems from the early Church, where believers gathered in private homes for the Divine Liturgy before dedicated church buildings were common. The "domestic church" is considered a microcosm of the entire Church, closely tied to the larger community. The home church is fundamentally about transforming daily life into "sacrifice of praise," bringing the liturgy into the home and making God real and His presence felt. There are also holy icons or crosses over each bed of the family members and throughout the house. The head of the house, the father, blesses his household by burning incense on Sunday mornings and the major holy days of the year.
However, ever since interfaith marriages were permitted in the Orthodox Church many of the above traditions have disappeared except with few exceptions. In the interfaith marriage the non-Orthodox spouse is allowed to keep their own religion, whether Roman Catholic or Protestant or to enter into the Church. The policy of the Church is not to proselytize or compel the non-Orthodox Christian to convert to Orthodoxy. It is, however, agreed by both of the spouses, when blessed with children, to baptize, and raise them, in the Orthodox Faith. It is a fact that when the father and the mother do not share a common Christian faith the couple immediately face serious issues such as where do we worship on Sunday morning? Do we go to the local Orthodox church, the Roman Catholic or the nearest Protestant church? Or, does the husband attend his church and the wife hers? And when they are blessed with children and they are baptized in the Orthodox Church do they attend the Orthodox church with the Orthodox father/mother, and the non-Orthodox spouse/parent goes to his/her church alone? The family is of course divided and most unhappy with the arrangement.
Therefore, interfaith marriage and the home environment is totally in crisis. Because of the different religious adherence of the spouses, the children grow up in a religious void. One would expect that the Orthodox father or mother would assume that responsibility but sadly that is not the reality. The Orthodox home has lost its identity and Christian purpose or goal. Another major issue is that the non-Orthodox parent years later has a change of mind and wants the children to attend her church. The solution that some have come up with is for the children to attend one Sunday at their father’s church and the following Sunday to attend their mother’s church. The result is that the children are confused and do not know where they belong.
There is no question that interfaith marriage significantly impacts Orthodox homes by creating a diverse, often challenging environment for nurturing faith. While it can promote tolerance and broaden cultural perspectives, it frequently leads to lower church attendance, potential conflict over religious practices, and, in some cases, the decline in children maintaining their Orthodox identity. Many of these issues lead to marital conflict and resentment. The ideal solution to this most urgent matter is that the entire family would share a common faith and worship under the same roof.
The impact of interfaith marriage is complex and a significant challenge to the traditional structure of the Orthodox family. The true reality is that because of interfaith marriage the Orthodox household is compromised, undermined, and diluted. We have seen many of our young men and women that have absolutely no connection with the Orthodox Church, the very Church which they were baptized in, and the reason is because they are religiously uninformed and unaware of the treasure they inherited and possess. They were not taught the faith and therefore, have never practiced their faith. How can anyone practice something that they do not know or understand? The problem is severe and very complicated to resolve immediately and without the anticipated repercussions.
The Church leadership needs to address this most important concern and, hopefully, to find, by the grace of God, a way to preserve our Holy Orthodox Tradition and protect the traditional Orthodox household. If not, we may witness in the near future the deterioration and crippling of our Church in the diaspora. [Resources: Orthodox Study Bible)
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 