Marriage as a sacred reality
In calling marriage a mysterion,
the Orthodox tradition confirms the sanctity of this institution. This point is
fundamental since, from its earliest times, Christianity has always struggled
with an internal belief that <<devalued>> marriage (J. Chryssavgis,
<<Love and Sexuality>>, 109; H. Crouzel, <<Marriage and
virginity>>; G. Khodre, <<A Great Mystery>>, 31-32). This
particular trend attributed <<a moral and cultural supremacy>> (P.
Brown, <<The Notion>>, 427) to the ascetic ideal of virginity and
absolute continence. In certain moments, it even abhorred marriage as <<a
concession of flesh>>, <<an unavoidable evil necessary for
reproduction>> and <<nothing more than a function of
society>> (G. Khodre, <<A Great Mystery>>, 31-32). For this
reason, most of the married persons who have been canonised by the Orthodox
Church were distinguished for their continence.
In different degrees, this line of
thought was lauded and endorsed by several great Orthodox figures: Ephrem of
Syria (c. 306-373) considered sexual abstinence as normative for married
couples after baptism; Basil of Caesarea (330-379) wrote that the married state
is a definite distraction from the contemplative life; Gregory of Nyssa
(335-395) believed that divine love cannot be achieved without chastity;
Alexios, the Man of God (c. 380-440) abandoned his bride on the wedding day for
the sake of asceticism; Patriarch Luke Chrysoberges (1156-1169) gave a penance
to those newlyweds who came together that night after Holy Communion; Gregory
Palamas (1296-1359) wrote that even lawful sexual pleasure is not a divine gift
of God; Simon of Thessalonica (1381-1429) upheld that the perfect goals of the
Gospel are virginity and incorruptibility, and that marriage did not belong to
the period of grace but was blessed by Christ only as a merciful accommodation
to human weakness; Epiphanius of Athens (1930-1989) believe that the primary
obligation of married couples was to struggle in the arena of universal
command, just like celibate persons (Basil of Caesarea, Homilia in Psalmum
45, 8; G. Khodre, << A Great Mystery>>, 32-33; T.
Stylianopoulos, <<Towards a Theology>>, 249, 270; N. Milosevic, To
Christ, 93; J. Meyendorff, <<Christian marriages>>, 99-100; R.
Murray, Symbols, 17-18; E. Theodoropoulos, Counsels, 155, 160;
E.M. Walsh, <<Saint Gregory>>, 211-213; A. Sterk,
<<Renouncing the World>>; B. Gain l’Église, 108). (Kevin
Schembri, Oikonomia, Divorce and Remarriage in the Eastern Orthodox
Tradition [Kanonika 23; Valore, Italy: Pontificio Instituto Orientale,
2017], 30-31)
