Does the Russian Orthodox

Church Have a Better Idea?

Commentary by Jim Day

While the Supreme Court of Massachusetts has just dictated to Massachusetts law makers that they have to adjust state laws to allow homosexuals to marry, it seems to me that the Russian Orthodox Church has a better idea.

According to a September 9th report in the London Telegraph, the Russian Orthodox Church not only defrocked the Rev. Vladimir Enert, but tore down his church as well. I heard one report say that Enert’s church, The Chapel of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, wasn’t just torn down, it was burnt to the ground and then bulldozed after local churchmen decided it had been defiled.

So what caused the Russian Orthodox Church to take such drastic measures against one of their priests? It seems Father Enert chose to ignore the Church’s ban on same-sex marriages and took a $450 bribe to perform a marriage ceremony joining together Denis Gogolev and Misha Morozov -- two homosexual activists.

Church authorities in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow, said the ceremony was a blasphemous act and a gimmick to attract public attention to same-sex unions. They also declared the ceremony null and void.

Morozov once tried to enter a Miss Nizhny Novgorod beauty pageant and both men have appeared on numerous Russian television shows to champion gay rights. They also plan to run for seats in the Russian parliament.

A spokesman for the Orthodox Church said the chapel had to go, as it had been desecrated. Some local officials said it was due for demolition to make way for a new, larger church, though it would not open until 2005. A spokesman for the patriarchate told the Daily Telegraph: "The chapel was dismantled because it is no longer needed," although he conceded the homosexual marriage may have "sped up the process."

Homosexual relations were considered a crime in the former Soviet Union but were legalized in 1993. Last year, a group of members of the Russian parliament tried to reverse the legalization in a campaign to restore traditional moral values, but were unsuccessful.

Gee…wouldn’t a campaign to restore traditional Judeo-Christian moral values in America be great!