The Orthodox Church, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity: From Embarrassment to Calling

by Vasileios Thermos

As the Western world moves deeper into the postmodern context, it seems that the latter is imposing its agenda on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. This development runs the risk of provoking a defensive attitude on the part of the Church (as is the case now), in which theologians and churchmen seek to condemn what they find wrong in the secular milieu and go on repeating truths in traditional terms.

Vasileios Thermos

The Rev. Dr. Vasileios Thermos is an assistant professor of pastoral theology and pastoral psychology at the University Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens. He studied at the Medical School of Athens University, specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry, and he still practices in this area in Athens. He was ordained in 1986 and serves in the Diocese of Viotia. In 1997, he received a PhD in pastoral psychology from the Theological School of Athens University. He is the editor of the biannual Greek journal Ψυχής Δρόμοι (Ways of the Soul), which studies the relationships between theology, religion, psychology, and psychiatry.

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