RT Article
T1 Matters of Birth and Death in the Russian Orthodox Church and Ecumenical Patriarchate's Social Documents
JF Studies in Christian ethics
VO 35
IS 2
SP 266
OP 280
A1 Frost, Carrie Frederick
LA English
PB Sage
YR 2022
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1796954187
AB In a span of twenty years, two of the autocephalous churches of the Orthodox Christian world released documents addressing the social realities of contemporary life: the Russian Orthodox Church's Basis of the Social Concept (2000) and the Ecumenical Patriarch's For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church (2020). This article offers a side-by-side comparison and analysis of the documents’ treatments of matters of birth and death, including childbirth, abortion, miscarriage, end-of-life care, euthanasia, suicide, and a vision of a good death. Detailed comparison demonstrates remarkable accord between the two churches on many of these matters. Differences of omission and emphasis appear to be indicative of contrasting demographic and historical situations, with the exception of one, notable divergence between the churches, all of which are discussed. The striking degree and depth of consonance between the documents offers potential for cooperation and unity as the two churches negotiate their conflicts while also seeking to guide their flocks and offer Orthodox Christian witness in an increasingly desacralized world.
K1 Palliative Care
K1 Dying
K1 Suicide
K1 Euthanasia
K1 Miscarriage
K1 Abortion
K1 Marriage
K1 postpartum prayers
K1 Childbirth
K1 Russian Orthodox Church
K1 Ecumenical Patriarch
K1 Orthodox Christian social statement
K1 Orthodox Christian bioethics
K1 Orthodox Christian ethics
DO 10.1177/09539468211045332