Phanar hierarch on LGBT: You can't divide people by their sexual behavior

Archbishop Elpidophooros. Photo: lifo.gr

Archbishop Elpidophoros believes that discriminating against homosexuals in the Church is not a Christian position, stating that the Church cannot divide people based on their sexual behavior.

During an interview with the Greek publication LiFO, Archbishop Elpidophoros, when asked about baptizing children of same-sex couples in Greece, stated that the Church "has always embraced and will embrace all people", and in the Church, "everyone is accepted and welcomed."

"This new argument and truly astonishing criterion used by some people that we must divide people based on their personal lives is not Orthodox, it is not even considered humane," Archbishop Elpidophoros asserted.

He emphasized that "we cannot reduce someone's sexual behavior and love life to the sole criterion of their acceptance or rejection."

"We have reached this extreme phenomenon in Greece, where a person's sexual behavior becomes the criterion for any discrimination in the professional, social, or political sphere, even within the Church," Elpidophoros continued.

He further stated that in his opinion, such a situation (where homosexuals are not accepted in the Church without repentance) is "completely unchristian", and Greek culture has never judged a man based on his sexual behavior.

Previously, the UOJ reported that the head of the Archdiocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in the USA, Archbishop Elpidophoros, stated that he had no reasons to refuse a gay couple the baptism of their children.

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