Abstract

Spiritual Fatherhood and the Accompaniment of LGBTQ Individuals:

A Healing Journey from an Orthodox Perspective
Deacon Andraos Badran

This paper examines the manner in which the Orthodox Church can engage pastorally with members of the LGBTQ+ community-particularly individuals who identify as homosexual or transgender—while remaining fully committed to the truth of Orthodox teaching. Special attention is devoted to those who self-identify as Orthodox Christians. The Church bears a pastoral responsibility to minister to these individuals both personally and within the life of the parish, just as it is called to extend the mercy, forgiveness, and grace of God to all who seek spiritual healing and transformation.
The Church’s responsibility to reach out to these individuals constitutes a fundamental pastoral duty, grounded in their profound need for the prayers, guidance, and support of the faithful. Such pastoral engagement must be carried out in a manner that is consistent with the Holy Tradition and the accumulated pastoral experience of the Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, much of the existing literature on this subject, along with many contemporary pastoral initiatives intended to integrate these individuals into the life of the Church, frequently lacks a cohesive and methodologically sound framework. As a result, the formulation of a clearly articulated and theologically grounded pastoral methodology emerges as both an urgent necessity and a critical imperative within the broader pastoral mission of the Orthodox Church.

Thus, this study presents a faith-based Orthodox perspective on these individuals. It seeks to address widespread misconceptions directed against the Church, often propagated by mainstream media and Gay advocacy efforts, which tend to highlight instances of mistreatment experienced by such individuals. In doing so, these narratives frequently promote the perception that traditional religions, including Christianity, uniformly condemn and reject individuals who identify as homosexual or transgender. In response, this study proposes a structured pastoral framework aimed at guiding Orthodox Christians who experience same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria toward renewed participation in the life of the Church. It further offers practical approach for clergy on how to accompany these individuals with both pastoral compassion and fidelity to Orthodox doctrine throughout their spiritual journey. At the heart of this pastoral approach lies the Church’s theology of healing, which underscores the essential roles of personal will, repentance, and spiritual fatherhood.
KEYWORDS: Spiritual Fatherhood, Repentance, Personal will, Pastoral Care, Orthodox Theology, Gender dysphoria, Transgenderism, Homosexuality.