Something frequently asked of me is, "How can you call yourself Orthodox and queer?"

The thoughts in this thread are not fresh, new, or revolutionary, but rather a summation of what I've tried to articulate over the last 6 or so years.

1/7

I am confident in the love and grace of God in my life. In practical application, I have entrusted my sexuality & identity to God, and in His infinite mercy, my acceptance of my own sexuality and gender identity has a direct, positive correlation to my experiencing God.

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How do I know this? In those times I spent ruthlessly suppressing that which God had given me to be as a person, I sat in a cave of the soul, bereft of the still, small voice of God in my life and His light. To love God is to also love oneself.

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There is the difficult situation of Orthodoxy vs. LGBTQIA+. I'm not going to mince words. Orthodoxy as an institution is inhospitable to us. However, I see my existence in the Orthodox Church as a reproach to Her violation of Christ's 2nd greatest command.

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"Why be so loud?"

For those of us who are loudly LGBTQIA+ in the Church, we might do so for others who cannot be, not just ourselves. It is a rebuking reminder that the Church fails to be loving when She thinks no one is listening.

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I have experienced deeply intimate moments with God, His Mother, & the Saints in the Orthodox tradition far greater than in any other. My soul knows that it is to worship God in this strange place. To those that say, "leave", I will leave only if that's where God leads.

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A note for those of you in LGBTQIA+ affirming traditions: before you tell those of us to leave traditions that are not, telling us to leave isn't always helpful. I feel as if we are constantly saying this, so perhaps it needs to be said again.

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