Eastern Orthodox View of Sin - View On Sexuality

View On Sexuality

From the Orthodox churches point of view, humans are not sexual creatures in terms of their essential identity. To Eastern Orthodoxy, the relationship which people have with God is reflected in the love for one another; the union of two people in marriage is considered to be a reflection of our ultimate union with God. However, as a result of humanity's rebellion against God (the Fall), humanity has tended to adopt a more animalistic view of sexual activity which is not true to the ultimate transfigurable nature of the human race, having been made in the Divine image and likeness.

Eastern Orthodoxy holds that Adam and Eve did not have sexual intercourse until after the Fall, and that sexual sin and the Fall are intimately linked. (Reproduction must have happened in some way, however, for God commands Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply" before the Fall as is stated in Genesis 1:28.) The Orthodox churches do not hold that sex is inherently sinful, but rather condemn seeing sex as something which can be divorced from the loving act between a married couple. As St. Cesarios said, "copulation and birth of children in accordance with the law is free from any sin and condemnation."