Athens | October 14,
1937
The Hierarchy of the Church of
Greece has confirmed, with much sadness, that one of the more characteristic
evils of our age, a tendency and development that, we must confess, is most
degenerate, and which first appeared among the young people of foreign nations,
namely, the avoidance of childbearing and childrearing, is attempting to
insinuate itself into the Greek Christian family. It seeks to shake its
foundations, to destroy the moral meaning and the lofty goal of marriage, to
corrupt Greek Christian spouses, and to irreparably harm the Greek nation
through the thinning of the population. The principal manifestation of this
evil is what we call abortion or induced miscarriage, i.e., the murder of the
embryo within the womb of its mother (a murder committed in a variety of ways)
and the forced removal of the premature child after its murder. Even crueler
and more criminal is the rejection of infants that have just been born, and who
are alive, who are then tragically label ‘abandoned.’
Because the repetition of this
evil, and greater evils still, blunts our moral sensitivity and cauterizes the
conscience (so that with time the evil becomes something permanent, or at least
of no concern), the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece has considered it its
obligation to present the following points of urgent importance to the clergy
and the people for the curtailing of this great evil.
It is well known that the
abandonment and rejection of infants, as well as abortion, amounts to the crime
of murder, not only for the Church but even according to the penal law of
Greece and of all civilized nations. It is among the worst kinds of murder at
that because it is committed premeditatedly, at the most far-reaching level,
namely within the very family, which is the natural fountain of life. It is
committed by the spouses themselves, who are thus reduced to murderers and
infanticides in place of being parents, and who thereby serve corruption and
death instead of shining forth life!
The second manifestation of this
genocidal evil is the obstruction of the conception of children, known as
‘neo-Malthusianism.’ Through this act the spouses reject becoming parents and
render their generative organs infertile and sterile, consciously nullifying
and abolishing the natural law of reproduction. This crime, which sociologists
outside of Christianity have characterized as “the most revolutionary practice
in the history of sexual morals,” and which has already spread widely around
the world, threatens even our prudent and reverent nation of Greece.
This great and unnatural evil,
therefore, namely, the avoidance of childbearing and childrearing, presents
itself in these two forms, each of which encompasses a multitude of
unacknowledged instances. Nevertheless, the unfailing experience of the ages teaches
us that every transgression and subversion of the laws of nature has its
consequences, and that all disobedience to moral laws has received a just
recompence of reward (Heb 2:2), according to the God-inspired assurance of the
Apostle Paul. Therefore, the transgression of the laws which govern human
reproduction—laws that belong not only to nature but to morality—cannot remain
without consequences and without the punishments proper to nature and to
morality.
The natural consequences of this
transgression are confirmed by medical experts, whose opinions are summarized
by two of the greatest authorities in gynecology. They write that, “All methods
of obstructing the conception of children pose a sure danger to the health of
the woman,” because, they say, “Nature will not be mocked.” Conversely, another
famous gynecologist says that this act “is not only a disgrace, but the
complete destruction of marriage: a danger to the health of the husband and a
crime against the wife, capable of bringing about the complete extinction of
the race.” Even more fearful are the consequences of abortions, because this
crime gives rise in mothers to the most serious illnesses and even death. It
suffices to note that the high mortality rate of mothers who undergo abortions
(tens of thousands die every year in larger European countries) has forced
those who specialize in the study of these statistics to address desperate
appeals to the League of Nations in order to curtail this calamity. A multitude
of books has been published in Europe and America over the last few years,
which, on account of these terrible consequences of the revolt against the law
of reproduction, stress “the horror of racial suicide” and consider “the danger
of the extinction and disappearance of the entire white race” to be imminent.
Yet the moral consequences are no
less significant, because the laws of nature and morality are intertwined.
Medical science itself characterizes the obstruction of conception as “an
unnatural evil.” Therefore the immediate moral consequence of this evil is the
disruption of spousal harmony and familial peace. This is because it is
impossible for this sin, in those spouses who preserve some degree of good
conscience, not to lead to inner turmoil: the reproach of the conscience. This
is so because the instinct to reproduce is also a moral instinct, deeply rooted
in the soul. Often there is also psychological depression, which not only
destroys the peace of the family but also gives rise in the wife to serious
nervous disorders, as the 1929 congress of psychiatrists in the Netherlands
confirmed. The disruption of family life is greatly increased when the one or
two children to whom the spouses restricted their fertility through such
criminal methods die or otherwise forsake their parents at a time in the parents’
life when they are no longer able to correct their mistake by giving birth to
more children. Yet an even greater moral punishment of this evil is the spousal
infidelity and divorce that frequently follows. For the marriage that has been
rendered sterile and infertile by such means is transformed into a disgraceful
form of materialism, since it is deprived of its most basic moral element, the
bearing and rearing of children, who not only adorn but also strengthen family
life. Even the most fervent advocates of this perverse ideology of avoiding
childbearing do not deny this truth. They confess that ‘free love’ will be the
natural end result of their ideas, and they do not hesitate to confirm that,
“Divorce started in order to destroy marriage.” What is more, they themselves
acknowledge that, “The public and unlimited dissemination and teaching of the
use of methods to prevent conception is a depravity and guarantees calamity.”
We are not unaware that some
present the financial insufficiency of parents and the medical risks of
pregnancy as an excuse for the revolt against the will of God and against the
eternal laws of life—a revolt accomplished through the obstruction of childbearing.
As regards financial
insufficiency, we are obligated to point out that those who avoid the
conception of children more than anyone are the wealthy classes, who certainly
cannot employ this excuse. Among the other classes, we know well that there
exists financial insufficiency, often even poverty, especially in this period
of economic crisis. But poverty and deprivation are as old as humanity itself.
Also, economic crises even greater than today’s have occurred many times over
the centuries. Never have economic conditions been so favorable that financial
insufficiency could not be presented as a justification for opposing
childbearing. Nevertheless, previous generations of Christians exhibited an
admirable submission to the law of the transmission of life. Regardless, the
confrontation and amelioration of the economic difficulties of a nation are
never accomplished through the racial suicide brought about by the rejection of
reproduction. Rather, it is accomplished through the overall improvement of
life.
The responsibility for this
improvement belongs first of all to the state. In order to reward the great
benefits that families with many children provide, the state helps these
families through a more just distribution of tax burdens and through the bestowal
of conveniences and assistance. This is especially important because families
with many children contribute the greatest portion of a country’s resources,
both at the material and the human level. Secondly, the responsibility for
economic improvement also belongs to the individual. For there are many
families that spend great sums on superfluities, on basically useless forms of
luxury, and on the demands of that insatiable and world-tyrannizing deity
called ‘fashion.’ It suffices to note that around six hundred billion drachmas
are squandered in various countries every year just for cosmetics! It is a sad
fact that even financially strained and poor families imitate the wealthy
classes in such waste on superfluities.
If, on the one hand, such
expenses are avoided, and, on the other hand, Christians rely on that great
supplier of life, namely trust in the providence of God, which is above all
economical factors and wealth, then surely the tragic revolt against the divine
law of reproduction would cease. For Christians at least should never forget
that it is impossible, by nature, for God, our benevolent Father, to be
indifferent to the sustenance of the innocent children that we bring into the
world in obedience to the law of creation. In the same way, too, we should not
forget the invaluable economic significance of these divine words for a head of
household who is pious and self-sufficient: Godliness with contentment is great
gain (1 Tim 6:6).
A s regards the medical risks of
pregnancy, we remind Christians that the actual medical risks in submitting to
the sacred duty of motherhood are not special dangers, such that avoiding
birth-giving will assure the wife perfect health and longevity. As we noted
earlier, it is incomparably more dangerous to the wife to prevent the bearing
of children. At the same time, there are numerous other dangers to one’s health
and life that are unrelated to pregnancy, and these lurk at every step of one’s
life and threaten every person. Furthermore, we would like to remind Christian
spouses in particular that every duty has its risks, and when a Christian
avoids his duty on account of these risks, he only succumbs to dangers that are
greater and more destructive. Every Christian is called in this life to bear a
cross. For those who are married, this is fatherhood and motherhood. The
particular lot of the woman, which was set in place by God’s first decree
following the transgression of Eve, is that she bear her children in the midst
of sorrow, pains, and sacrifices. Even so, Christianity provides the greatest
possible consolation, a priceless reward for every Christian wife who, as a
faithful and true Christian, accepts all the burdens that accompany
childbearing. The woman, says the Apostle Paul, shall be saved by childbearing,
if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with self-control (1 Tim
2:14-15).
We cannot fail to make it known
to married couples that in especially difficult circumstances, when the
avoidance of childbearing is unavoidably imposed, the only lawful recourse is
abstinence from conjugal relations by means of self-restraint. This recourse,
which even medical science itself recommends, may appear rigid and
unattainable. Yet it appears so only to non-Christians and those who live
according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. For true Christians, it
is possible, since, in every case, a fruit of the Spirit received by true
Christians is self-restraint, as the God-inspired Apostle Paul says (Gal 5:23).
This is especially true for pious married couples, who receive from God the
grace to confront the difficult circumstances of conjugal life (a grace that
empowers them to undertake sacrifices and self-denial). This is a most certain
truth, confirmed by both ancient and contemporary experience.
In order to further enlighten
Christians about the all-important duty of childbearing, which is being denied
in the abnormal and chaotic era of today, we present a few words, first about
the purpose of life and marriage, and second about the deeper causes that
initiated the rebellion against this duty.
The fundamental problem, which
has resulted in the rebellion against childbearing, is that modern man has lost
all sense of the purpose of life. This is because he has set the selfish
enjoyment of the pleasures of the world as the purpose of life, even though the
purpose of life is the fulfillment of one’s duty. And the purpose of marriage
is, on the one hand, to transmit and perpetuate the human species through
childbearing, while, on the other hand, providing for the mutual help and moral
cooperation of the spouses, accomplished through their unity of heart and soul.
Thus, in the creation of man, The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man
should be alone; let Us make him a help fit for him’ (Gen 2:18). And God made
man, male and female He made them. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Increase, and
multiply’ (Gen 1:27-28). It is obvious that this blessing of God upon
childbearing is also His eternal and insoluble commandment. Even science,
through its research, recognizes and declares that, “Pregnancy is the normal
physiological function [leitourgia] of woman and the natural purpose of
the procreative cycle.” For this reason marriage was exalted to the status of a
Sacrament (Mysterion) in the New Testament. A special significance was ascribed
to it through those God-inspired words of the Apostle Paul, wherein he closely
compares marriage to the Great Mystery of the union of Christ with the Church
(Eph 5:23, 31-32). Children, meanwhile, have also always been considered divine
gifts, a blessing of God: So shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord,
when his wife is as a fruitful vine on the sides of his house , and his sons
like young olive trees planted round about his table; and, May he see his
children’s children, says the Holy Spirit through the Psalmist (Ps 127:4, 3,
6).
Pious Christians should also know
that the deeper cause and origin of the revolt against the natural law of
reproduction is enmity against the Christian religion and Christian morals.
This is why the movement against childbearing, as much in Europe as in America,
has been a propaganda campaign of the so-called ‘atheists.’ This is
acknowledged even by authors outside of Christianity,10who confirm that the
propaganda against childbirth “is a branch of a widespread movement whose work
is to destroy traditional morality.” Collaborators in this propaganda campaign
are the latest books, theater plays, and movies, which artfully teach the
avoidance of familial duties and virtues. These even praise divorce and a life
of pleasure-seeking. So-called ‘feminist’ ideologies have also played an
important role. These have sought, together with the economic and
socio-political liberation of women, their liberation from the duty of
motherhood, since they teach women “to flee from the slavery of motherhood,
from which man is also free”!
We consider the foregoing to be
sufficient for demonstrating the magnitude of this crime, which is committed
against the family, against Christian morals, and against the most innocent
member of the human family, that is to say, the child. We therefore address,
first and foremost, the most venerable priests, and especially those who are
tasked with the ministry of spiritual fatherhood and administer the sacrament
of Confession. We remind them that the tradition of the Church is consistent
and has been passed on to us unchanged from the times of the apostles. It
teaches that the avoidance of children is a lawless act and a deliberate
resistance by man to the will of God. If, in this matter, even heterodox
Churches have tried not to deviate from this tradition, all the more is
faithful adherence incumbent upon us the Orthodox, the unbending custodians of
the dogmatic and moral truths handed down to us from the beginning.
The reverend priests are not
unaware that every transgression of priestly duty imposes upon the priest a
grave responsibility and may lead to such penalties as the Lord pronounced upon
the wicked stewards (priests being stewards of the Mysteries) (cf. Mt 24:48–51
and Lk 12:45-46). If a spiritual father, in the matter of childbearing, reasons
contrary to all that the truth of the Orthodox Church teaches and in any way
consents to the rebellion perpetrated by those parents who by any means
whatsoever nullify the conception and birth of children, his conduct amounts to
a great criminal scandal, for which the responsibility of the priest is
frightful. To him, in this situation, apply those words of the Lord, They are
blind leaders of the blind; and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall
into the ditch (Mt 15:14).
Secondly, we address physicians,
and especially those physicians involved in the field of obstetrics and
gynecology. These must be aware that they are tasked with a lofty
responsibility worthy of all honor because they collaborate in the propagation
of life, so that they become, in some measure, collaborators with the Creator.
They are, after the parents, the most natural protectors of that innocent age,
the wonders age of childhood, and God accords honor to physicians: Honor the
physician, for the Lord hath made even him. And He gave men science to glorify
in His wonders (Sirach 38:1, 6). But physicians must not, as some of them
unfortunately do, neglect this high calling and play the role of assassin, performing
abortions or in any way assisting in thwarting the continuation of the human
species by impeding conception and childbearing. Let them reflect on the fact
that Hippocrates, although living in an era of idolatry, affirmed, “I will keep
pure and holy both my life and my profession.” He forbade abortion to his
students and placed in his Oath the promise that they would not give an
‘abortive pessary’ to women. Today Christian physicians have given an oath that
they will practice their profession “to the glory of God and the salvation of
men.” How, then, in light of this, can Christian physicians degrade their field
and their conscience to such a base and criminal level?
Finally, we address the faithful
laity. We assure them that marriage is not simply a carnal union between a man
and a woman. Rather, it is a calling from God for spouses to become parents.
For children are not simply the natural fruit of lawful marriage, but gifts and
a blessing of God to the parents. They are their glory, because, through their
childbearing parents become instruments and co-workers of God in the magnum
opus of His creation. This is because every child is, for his country, a
potential citizen, and, for the Church, a potential saint and child of the
heavenly Father.
We adamantly protest and
absolutely condemn every method of neo-Malthusianism, which defiles the purity
of family life and thwarts conception for selfish reasons, for comforts, and
for luxuries. All the more we condemn abortion, because these murderous acts
are a deliberate insurrection against the will of God and a revolt against His
laws. No such revolt can remain unpunished by Him, as the example of Onan shows
us, whom God put to death precisely for this reason. The divine Paul also
assures us of this, when he says that childbearing is a means of salvation for
faithful spouses such that its deliberate obstruction can only result in the
loss of salvation.
We are not unaware of that
category of parents who are faced with great difficulties in their married
life, either because they bear unsustainable financial burdens or because
childbearing entails a direct danger to the life of the mother. We nurture deep
compassion for them. We appeal to them, however, to bear in mind that in the
life of a family, as in the life of every individual, we are called to carry a
cross and to suffer trials. But we must put all our hope in the power of God,
who enables us to bear the weight of our cross. In these circumstances spouses
have a duty to abstain, as they do in the circumstances indicated by the
Apostle Paul, when he spoke of the temporary abstinence of spouses for the sake
of fasting and prayer (1 Cor 6:1–6). Abstinence constitutes for spouses the only
lawful means of avoiding childbearing when a real need for it is present.
Let Christian spouses be assured
that when they are self-controlled and submissive, not to the disorderly
impulses of the flesh but to the divine law, living not as carnal but as
spiritual persons and accepting the burden of abstinence for the sake of the
family and the exalted and moral meaning of marriage, they will thereby receive
the Cross as a crown and blessing from the first Crossbearer, our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ, Whose grace and boundless mercy be with all of you. Amen.
Chrysostomos of
Athens, Primate
Anthismos of Maroneia
and Thassos
Eirenaios of
Kassandreia
Gennadios of
Thessaloniki
Spyridon of Ioannina
Germanos of Mantineia
and Kynouria
Antonios of Patras
Iakovos of Mytilini
Konstantinos of
Kitron
Alexandros of Zichnas
Konstantinos of
Edessa
Chrysostomos of
Philippi-Neapolis
Polykarpos of Beroea
and Naousis
Ambrosios of Phthitis
Joakeim of Xanthos
Joakeim of Chios
Sokrates of Ierissos
and the Holy Mountain
Diodoros of Sisanios
and Siatisti
Prokopios of Hydra,
Spetsas, and Aegina
Synesios of Thebes
and Levadeia
Sypridon of Arta
Eirenaios of Samos
and Icaria
Gervasios of Grevenas
Joakeim of Servias
and Kozani
Hierotheos of Aetolia
and Akarnania
Basileios of Drama and
Philippi
Polykarpos of Trikki
and Stagas
Dionysios of Sparta
Joakeim of
Alexandropolis
Kallinikos of Elasson
Hierotheos of
Argolides
Georgios of
Paramythia
Kyrillos of Polyana
and Kilkisios
Dionysios of Mithymni
Damaskinos of Corinth
Dorotheos of Larisa
Gregorios of Chalkida
Andreas of Triphylia
and Olympia
Panteleimon of
Karystia
Philaretos of Syros,
Tinos, and Andros
Joakeim of Demetrias
Theoklitos of
Kalavryta and Aigialeia
Anthimos of Thera
Vasileios of Florina
Vasileios of
Sidirokastron
Demetrios of Leukas and
Ithaca
Germanos of
Kefallinia
Chrysostomos of
Zakynthos
Prokopios of Gortynas
and Megalopolis
Iakovos of Attica and
Megara
Cherubim of Paronaxia
Andreas of Nikopolis
and Preveza
Nikephoros of
Kastoria
Germanos of Naupakia
Athanassios of Phocis
Prokopios of
Gytheion, Oitylon, and Kythira
Greek source: Εκκλησία, 42 (October 23, 1937), pp.
329-333.
English source:
Contraception and the Orthodox Church, by Tikhon Alexander Pino, Ph.D.,
Patristic Nectar Publications, 2025, pp. 113-132.
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