Sexual Ethics and Contemporary Sexual Issues

Part 7: Sexual Ethics and Contemporary Sexual Issues

Opening Reflection

Human sexuality is a sacred gift, not a momentary desire. In a world that often confuses passion  (ጤነኛ ያልሆነ ፍላጎት) with love, the Church proclaims the beauty of purity. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, created for holiness and communion. Christ calls us to transform desire through divine love, not to be enslaved by it. True freedom begins when the heart learns chastity (ንጽሕና) and the soul once again reflects the image of God.

Sexual Ethics in Orthodox Teaching

Human sexuality is a sacred gift from God, created for love, communion, and holiness.
When lived in purity and truth, it becomes a path that reflects the divine beauty of God’s love and life.

Theological Foundation of Orthodox Sexual Ethics

• Human sexuality is a gift from God, designed for love, communion, and life within the covenant of marriage.

“እግዚአብሔርም ሰውን በመልኩ ፈጠረ፤ በእግዚአብሔር መልክ ፈጠረው፤ ወንድና ሴት አድርጎ ፈጠራቸው::” (Genesis 1:27–28)

“ ስለዚህ ሰው አባቱንና እናቱን ይተዋል፥ በሚስቱም ይጣበቃል፤ ሁለቱም አንድ ሥጋ ይሆናሉ።” (Genesis 2:24)

• The purpose of sexuality is to cultivate unity through mutual self-giving, remain open to life, and bring forth children.

“ባሎች ሆይ፥ ክርስቶስ ደግሞ ቤተ ክርስቲያንን እንደ ወደዳት ሚስቶቻችሁን ውደዱ::….ሆኖም ከእናንተ ደግሞ እያንዳንዱ የገዛ ሚስቱን እንዲህ እንደ ራሱ አድርጎ ይውደዳት፥ ሚስቱም ባልዋን ትፍራ።.(Ephesians 5:25–33).

This verse emphasizes love, unity, and mutual respect as the divine model for Christian marriage.

• Chastity (ንጽሕና/ቅድስና) is the virtue (በጎ ስነ ምግባር) by which sexual desires are rightly guided in harmony with one’s vocation—whether married, single, or monastic.

“ይህ የእግዚአብሔር ፈቃድ እርሱም መቀደሳችሁ ነውና፤ ከዝሙት እንድትርቁ፥ እግዚአብሔርን እንደማያውቁ አሕዛብ በፍትወት ምኞት አይደለም እንጂ፥ ከእናንተ እያንዳንዱ የራሱን ዕቃ በቅድስናና በክብር ያገኝ ዘንድ እንዲያውቅ።” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5)

• Pastoral balance: maintain moral truth while offering compassion (ርኅራኄ), mercy, and spiritual guidance to those seeking healing from sexual sins.

       Patristic insight:

• St. John Chrysostom: “Sexuality must be governed by reason and virtue; lust (ዝሙት) is destructive to both the soul and the body.”
• St. Basil the Great: “The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit; sexual self-control glorifies God.”

---

1) Fornication (Premarital Sexual Relations) and Adultery

Definition and Moral Impact

·       "Fornication" refers to sexual intimacy between unmarried persons—a misuse of God’s gift of sexuality outside the sacred covenant of marriage. 

"Adultery" refers to sexual relations where at least one of the parties is married to someone else. 

Both acts break God’s divine design for sexuality, which is meant to be a holy expression of love within a lifelong covenant (ቃልኪዳን), reflecting faithfulness, purity, and openness (ግልጽነት) to life.

·       When disconnected from this divine purpose, sexual acts lose their sacred meaning and bring emotional, moral, and spiritual harm.

The Scripture in 1 Corinthians 6:18 states:

“ከዝሙት ሽሹ። ሰው የሚያደርገው ኃጢአት ሁሉ ከሥጋ ውጭ ነው፤ ዝሙትን የሚሠራ ግን በገዛ ሥጋው ላይ ኃጢአትን ይሠራል።”

 Similarly, 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 records:

“ይህ የእግዚአብሔር ፈቃድ እርሱም መቀደሳችሁ ነውና፤ ከዝሙት እንድትርቁ፥ እግዚአብሔርን እንደማያውቁ አሕዛብ በፍትወት ምኞት አይደለም እንጂ፥ ከእናንተ እያንዳንዱ የራሱን ዕቃ በቅድስናና በክብር ያገኝ ዘንድ እንዲያውቅ።”

Patristic Perspective

Fathers like St. John Chrysostom warn against premarital sexual relations as spiritually harmful and morally disordered, yet they also emphasize pastoral correction and teaching rather than mere condemnation.

The Priest’s Role in Marriage Formation

Prevention: Teach virtue, proper courtship (ትክክለኛ መጠናናት), and the value of chastity (ንጽሕና/ቅድስና) through spiritual guidance.

Healing: Offer confession, repentance, spiritual counsel, and guidance to prepare your spiritual children for sacramental marriage.

Practical Scenario: For a couple in courtship (መጠናናት) seeking marriage, pastoral guidance should lead them in repentance, formation in virtue, and preparation for a sacred union.

2) Homosexuality

Orthodox teaching considers homosexual acts as a serious sin and calls the faithful to chastity (ቅድስና) in accordance with God’s design. This guidance reflects the Church’s commitment to moral and spiritual integrity.

Scripture clearly states:

“You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

 “ከሴትም ጋር እንደምትተኛ ከወንድ ጋር አትተኛ፤ ጸያፍ ነገር ነውና” (Leviticus 18:22)

 St. Paul further warns against unnatural sexual passions:

“ስለዚህ እግዚአብሔር ለሚያስነውር ምኞት አሳልፎ ሰጣቸው፤ ሴቶቻቸውም ለባሕርያቸው የሚገባውን ሥራ ለባሕርያቸው በማይገባው ለወጡ፤ እንዲሁም ወንዶች ደግሞ ለባሕርያቸው የሚገባውን ሴቶችን መገናኘት ትተው እርስ በርሳቸው በፍትወታቸው ተቃጠሉ፤ ወንዶችም በወንዶች ነውር አድርገው በስሕተታቸው የሚገባውን ብድራት በራሳቸው ተቀበሉ።” (Romans 1:26–27)

Protection and boundaries: maintain moral standards, protect the community, and lead individuals toward repentance and spiritual healing.

For more on this topic, follow this link: https://tewahedoperspective.blogspot.com/2024/08/homosexuality-most-disgraceful-and.html

3) Pornography

Pornography objectifies and commodifies persons, promotes lust, fosters addiction, and harms marriage and family.

 “Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

“እኔ ግን እላችኋለሁ፥ ወደ ሴት ያየ ሁሉ የተመኛትም ያን ጊዜ በልቡ ከእርስዋ ጋር አመንዝሮአል።” (Matthew 5:28):

 The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit:

  “ወይስ ሥጋችሁ ከእግዚአብሔር የተቀበላችሁት በእናንተ የሚኖረው የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ቤተ መቅደስ እንደ ሆነ አታውቁምን? በዋጋ ተገዝታችኋልና ለራሳችሁ አይደላችሁም፤ ስለዚህ በሥጋችሁ እግዚአብሔርን አክብሩ።1” (Corinthians 6:18–20)

Strategies to Prevent it

Education: Teach youth about human dignity, love, and the purpose of human sexuality.

Recovery: Facilitate confession, spiritual direction, accountability groups, therapy, and disciplined use of technology.

Marriage Repair: Provide couples’ counseling, restore trust, and nurture the sacramental life.

You can also follow this link: https://tewahedoperspective.blogspot.com/2024/07/pornography-orthodox-christian-ethics.html

4) Incest

Incest refers to sexual relations between close family members, which are explicitly forbidden by God.

It is clearly prohibited in Scripture (Leviticus 18) and in Orthodox teaching.

“የሚሠራቸው ሰው በእነርሱ በሕይወት ይኖራልና ሥርዓቴንና ፍርዴን ጠብቁ፤ እኔ እግዚአብሔር ነኝ። ከእናንተም ማንም ሰው ኃፍረተ ሥጋውን ይገልጥ ዘንድ ወደ ዘመዱ ሁሉ አይቅረብ፤ እኔ እግዚአብሔር ነኝ።….” (Leviticus 18 :5-30)

Such relations violate human dignity, undermine family trust, and disrupt God’s intended order.

Protection and Care:

• Immediate protection: safeguard children and vulnerable adults; comply with civil law.
• Healing: provide long-term spiritual and psychological support.

Patristic guidance: Protect the vulnerable, restore trust, and emphasize the sanctity of family boundaries.

St. John Chrysostom, in his homilies on marriage and parenting, stresses the need to safeguard children from sin and corruption.

5) Mixed Marriages (Orthodox & Non-Orthodox)

One of the criteria of an Orthodox Christian Marriage is to be of the same (Orthodox) faith.

The Scripture is clear on this:

“ከማያምኑ ጋር በማይመች አካሄድ አትጠመዱ፤ ጽድቅ ከዓመፅ ጋር ምን ተካፋይነት አለውና? ብርሃንም ከጨለማ ጋር ምን ኅብረት አለው?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)

For more on this topic, follow this link: https://tewahedoperspective.blogspot.com/2025/02/marriage-from-ethiopian-orthodox.html

6) Widows & Widowers

Widows refers to women whose husbands have passed away, and widowers to men whose wives have passed away.

The Orthodox Church honors widows and widowers, offering care, respect, and integration into the life of the Church.

Scripture emphasizes this responsibility:

“Honor widows who are truly widows…”

“በእውነት ባልቴቶች የሆኑትን ባልቴቶች አክብር።” (1 Timothy 5:3–16)

The Church also encourages the faithful to support them spiritually, emotionally, and practically, helping them remain active in the community and protected from neglect or exploitation.

As part of its pastoral care, the Church provides bereavement ministry (የማጽናናት/ የማስተዛዘን አገልግሎት), grief counseling, and social support through the guidance of the Confession Fathers.

Conclusion

Orthodox sexual ethics guides us to live sexuality as a sacred gift. It calls us to chastity, love, and respect for God’s divine design. The Church teaches moral truth while offering mercy and spiritual guidance. When rightly ordered, sexuality becomes a means to grow in holiness and communion. Desire is transformed into a reflection of God’s love. The body and relationships become temples of fidelity(ታማኝነት), unity, and divine beauty.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, guide our hearts to honor You in all our desires. Grant us chastity, love, and purity of soul. Transform our relationships to reflect Your holiness. Strengthen us to resist temptation and walk in Your truth. Fill our lives with Your grace, that we may serve You faithfully. May our bodies and lives always glorify You, through the prayers of Your holy Mother and all the saints. Amen.