THE RITE OF HOLY UNION

9 02 2008

WHAT IS A HOLY UNION?

A Holy Union is the spiritual joining of two persons of the same sex.
It is a Christian Celebration of Love.
It is a Covenant in where public vows and promises are made.
We take this ceremony seriously, this vows are made before God.

HOLY UNION IS NOT…

A government involved ceremony, it is a service, ministry and ceremony of our Church.
A magic or a quick fix for a broken or strained relationship. If your relationship is in trouble, it is not approppriate to have a Holy Union.

IS THE HOLY UNION LEGAL IN THE PHILIPPINES?

- There are no existing laws about same sex marriage or holy union in the Philippines, It is neither illegal nor legal.

- Here is the Philippines we are enjoying FREEDOM OF RELIGION, and because Christianity is our religion and MCC Philippines is our church, we are given by our constitution to practice our religion and it includes Holy Unions.

- For example, there are laws here in the Philippines about bigamy, polygamy and adultery but our Muslim Brothers are allowed by their religion Islam to marry more than one wife. But they are not persecuted by our laws because of FREEDOM OF RELIGION.

- If you are planning to have a Holy Union at MCC Philippines, you will have to fill up legal documents that are accepted to all countries that have same sex marriage laws, like some states of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and some European countries.

THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES ARTICLE III SECTION 5

Section 5. “No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights”

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS?

Accomplished Holy Union Registration from MCC Philippines.
DOWNLOAD HERE!!! mccph-holy-union-registration-2007a.doc
2 X 2 Picture with white background
Photo copy of birth certificate, residential certificate, barangay clearance and new NBI clearance.
Photo copy of passport (If you are a foreigner or an OFW)

CRITERIAS FOR HOLY UNION

At least 12 months relationship.
Attend 4 consecutive Sunday Worship of MCC Philippines. (For Residents of Makati, Metro Manila & nearby Provinces only)
Schedule personal interview with the Pastor or Pastoral Leader of MCC Philippines.
Partners will undergo a pre-holy union counseling.

SHORT HISTORY OF HOLY UNION

OLD FORMS OF HOLY UNION IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

HISTORY OF SAME-SEX UNION FROM WIKIPEDIA

Although state-recognized same-sex marriage is a relatively new phenomenon in Western society, there is a long history of same-sex unions around the world. Various types of same-sex unions have existed, ranging from informal, unsanctioned relationships to highly ritualized unions.

Asia

Same-gender romantic love or sexual desire has been recorded since ancient times in the entirety of the continent of Asia, right from the Middle East to South Asia to East Asia. Such desire often took the form of same-sex unions, usually between men, and often included some difference in age. There is far less information available on relationships among women in ancient times.

In China, in the southern province of Fujian where male love was especially cultivated, men would marry youths in elaborate ceremonies.^[1] The marriages would last a number of years, at the end of which the elder partner would help the younger find a (female) wife and settle down to raise a family. Generally, this practice – though unusual even in China – was reflective of the value Chinese culture placed on the reciprocal relationship between benevolent elders teaching and guiding the obedient younger members of society.

In Japan, Shudo (衆道 shudō or shūdō), the Japanese tradition of age-structured homosexuality was prevalent in samurai society from the medieval period until the end of the 19th century. Shudo, in its pedagogic, martial, and aristocratic aspects, is closely analogous to the ancient Greek tradition of pederasty.

Classical Europe

Some early Western societies integrated, and even celebrated, same-sex relationships, though it should be noted those these relationships were generally substantially different from and in some cases co-existed with traditional marriage. The practice of same-sex love in antiquity often took the form of formal pairings of men with youths, which had many of the attributes of marriage but were limited in duration. The practice was outlawed in 342 AD, though it is believed to have continued until the late Middle Ages.^[2][3][4]

In Hellenic Greece, the pederastic relationships between Greek men (erastes) and youths (eromenos) who had come of age were, it has been argued, analogous to marriage in several aspects. The age of the youth was similar to the age at which women married (the mid-teens, though in some city states, as young as age seven), and the relationship could only be undertaken with the consent of the father. This consent, just as in the case of a daughter’s marriage, was contingent on the suitor’s social standing. The relationship, just like a marriage, consisted of very specific social and religious responsibilities and also had a sexual component.

At the same time, many of these relationships might be more clearly understood as mentoring relationships between adult men and young boys rather than an analog of marriage. This is particularly true in the case of Sparta, where the relationship was intended to further a young boy’s military training. While the relationship was generally life long and of profound emotional significance to the participants, it was not considered marriage by contemporary culture and the relationship continued even after participants entered into traditional marriage to women as was expected in the culture when men reached age 30.

In ancient Rome, the Emperor Nero is reported to have married two other men on different occasions.^[5] Other Roman Emperors, including Diocletian, are reported to have done the same. The marriages however did not fall under the scope of Roman law and are considered as camp. In their time they provoked amazement and contempt.^[6]

Increasingly influential Christianity promoted marriage for procreative purposes and to align society with Judeo-Christian perspectives on heterosexual relationships. The teachings of the Talmud and Torah, and the Bible, specifically prohibited the practices as contrary to nature and the will of the Creator, and a moral shortcoming.

The Roman use of sexuality as a form of dominance, as well as a means to conquer a male enemy through rape, have been linked with the increasing intolerance of same-sex relations in Rome.

Christian Europe

Historian John Boswell claimed the 4th century Christian martyrs Saint Sergius and Saint Bacchus were united in the ritual of adelphopoiesis, which he calls an early form of religious same-sex marriage

After the Middle Ages in Europe, same-sex relationships were increasingly frowned upon and banned in many countries by the Church or the state. However, Historian John Boswell argued that Adelphopoiesis, or brother-making, represented an early form of religious same-sex marriage in the Orthodox church, and Alan Bray saw the rite of Ordo ad fratres faciendum (”Order for the making of brothers”) as serving the same purpose in the medieval Roman Catholic Church. In the Balkans, same-sex marriage survived until modern days, in the form of the Albanian rite of vellameria, “brother bond.”^[7]

Modern Europe

Increased in Europe in the 20th and 21st Centuries has led to the legalization of same-sex unions in the majority of European countries.

North America

Main article: Two-Spirit

Same-sex marriage has been documented in many societies that were not subject to Christian influence. In North America, among the Native Americans societies, it has taken the form of Two-Spirit-type relationships, in which some male members of the tribe, from an early age, heed a calling to take on female gender with all its responsibilities. They are prized as wives by the other men in the tribe, who enter into formal marriages with these Two-Spirit men. They are also respected as being especially powerful shamans.

In the United States during the 19th century, there was recognition of the relationship of two women making a long-term commitment to each other and cohabitating, referred to at the time as a Boston marriage; however, the general public at the time likely assumed that sexual activities were not part of the relationship.

Rev. Troy Perry performed the first public gay wedding in the United States in 1969, but it was not legally recognized, and in 1970, Metropolitan Community Church filed the first-ever lawsuit seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages. The lawsuit was not successful. In March 2005, Two Unitarian Universalist ministers Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey were charged with multiple counts of solemnizing a marriage without a license in the State of New York. The charges were the first brought against clergy for performing same-sex unions in North America, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based gay rights group.
As a substitute to the conventional, heterosexual term “marriage,” on November 5, 1994, James D. Woods and Paul D. Young coined the alternative “commitment ceremony” when they had one of their own in New York City. This has become a more accepted term in recent years, especially where no legal same-sex marriage alternative exists.

Africa

In Africa, among the Azande of the Congo, men would marry youths for whom they had to pay a bride-price to the father. These marriages likewise were understood to be of a temporary nature. In Ancient Egypt, Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum are considered by many to be the first male couple in history. They shared the title of Overseer of the Manicurists in the Palace of King Niussere during the Fifth Dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs, and are listed as “royal confidantes” in their joint tomb.^[8]

SAME SEX UNION ARTICLE FROM WIKIPEDIA

Same-sex union means an enduring, marriage-like relationship between two people of the same gender.

Literary, historical, and archaeological evidence of such unions has been found for a number of diverse cultures as early as 2400 B.C. in ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient China, ancient Japan, and among the traditions of North American native cultures.

Currently, same-sex union refers to a legally recognized union, regulated by national law or by the laws of a sub-national jurisdiction, such as a state, province, county, or city. Denmark was the first country to offer legal recognition nationwide, beginning in 1989. The Netherlands was the first to offer full same-sex marriage, in 2001. Some religious bodies also recognize same-sex unions.

Tthe terms used to designate legally recognized same-sex unions are not standardized, and vary widely from country to country. The exact level of rights and benefits also varies, depending on the laws of a particular country.

See the following articles for further discussion of these terms:

same-sex marriage – marriage between two people who are of the same sex.
civil union – generally speaking, a status equivalent or identical to marriage for same-sex couples. In some jurisdictions, such as Quebec and New Zealand, civil unions are also open to opposite-sex couples.
civil partnership – a civil union for same-sex couples in the United Kingdom, which is practically identical to marriage in all but name.
registered partnership — a term for civil unions in several European countries, such as the Scandinavian countries and Switzerland.
life partnership – a term for civil unions in Germany.
civil pact of solidarity – a term for civil unions in France, also open to opposite-sex couples.
stable union of couples – a term for civil unions in Andorra.
significant relationship – a term for civil unions in Tasmania, an Australian state. “Caring relationships” are available for relatives, as well.
domestic partnership – a term for same-sex unions most often used by states, provinces, or municipalities in North America, with lesser status and fewer benefits than a civil union. Domestic partnerships may also be open to opposite-sex couples.
reciprocal beneficiaries – a term for domestic partnerships in Hawaii, an American state, also open to relatives.

Some jurisdictions may recognize equivalent same-sex unions created in other jurisdictions, but again, laws vary widely from one country or state to another. In the United States, the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act bars the federal government from recognizing any same-sex unions, and does not require any state to recognize such unions created by another states.

blessing of same-sex unions – the religious recognition of a same-sex couple, currently offered by several Christian and Jewish religious bodies in a number of developed countries around the world.

Same-sex civil unions
Denmark (1989) Norway (1993) Sweden (1995) Greenland (1996) Iceland (1996) France (1999) Germany (2001) Portugal (2001) Finland (2002)	Luxembourg (2004) New Zealand (2005) United Kingdom (2005) Andorra (2005) Czech Republic (2006) Slovenia (2006) Switzerland (2007) Colombia (2007)

Israel (1994)
Hungary (1996) Croatia (2003)
Austria (2003) United States (1997)
Argentina (2003)
Australia (2004) Brazil (2004)
Italy (2004)
Mexico (2006) Argentina
Australia
Austria
Brazil
Chile Costa Rica
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Liechtenstein Mexico
Poland
Puerto Rico
United States
Uruguay

BLESSING OF SAME SEX UNIONS IN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The blessing of same-sex unions is currently an issue about which some Christian Churches are at present in disagreement with other christian churches. These disagreements are primarily centered on the interpretation of various scripture passages related to homosexuality, and in some Churches on the varying understandings of homosexuality in psychology, genetics and other scientific data. While various Church bodies have widely varying practices and teachings, individual Christians of every major tradition are involved in practical (orthopraxy) discussions about how to respond to the issue.

Churches favorable to same-sex marriage

Due to its “local option”, a number of congregations and ministers of the United Church of Canada (a merger of Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Methodist congregations in Canada following presbyterian polity) officiate at same-sex marriages, which are fully legal in Canada.

In the Anglican Communion, Integrity Toronto has been divided over whether to continue pressing for same-sex blessings, or to revise their goals to seek full marriage rights ^[7].

The predominantly gay Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches performs same-sex marriages.

The Mennonite Church in the Netherlands offers marriage to both heterosexual and same-gender couples^{[citation needed]}.

The Unitarian Universalists perform same-sex marriages.^[8]

The Swedenborgian Church of North America allows ministers to choose whether to perform same-sex marriages ^[9].

Same sex couples can be married under the care of many “unprogrammed” Quaker meetings^{[citation needed]}. British Quaker meetings celebrate same sex commitments by a special act of worship but none have yet called this marriage.

Many smaller denominations, such as the Eucharistic Catholic Church also solemnize same-sex marriages.

Churches favorable to Same-sex union

Anglicanism

Report of the Lambeth Commission

The Archbishop of Canterbury requested the Lambeth Commission on Communion to report to him by September, 2004. The Commission was asked to consider the legal and theological implications flowing from decisions related to homosexuality that were apparently threatening the communion. In addition to decisions relating to the blessing of same sex unions, the Commission was asked to examine the decision of the Episcopal Church (USA) to appoint a priest, Gene Robinson, in a committed same sex relationship as one of its bishops. The Commission was charged with specifically considering the effects on communion: “impaired and broken communion,” between provinces of the Anglican Communion over the above decisions.

In its report, known as the Windsor Report, the Commission put forward the following general findings”^[10]

The Commission regrets that without attaching sufficient importance to the interests of the wider Communion:

<!–[if !supportLists]–>· <!–[endif]–>The Episcopal Church (USA) proceeded with the consecration of Gene Robinson

<!–[if !supportLists]–>· <!–[endif]–>The 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church (USA) declared that ‘local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions’[80]

<!–[if !supportLists]–>· <!–[endif]–>The Diocese of New Westminster approved the use of public Rites for the Blessing of same sex unions.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>· <!–[endif]–>The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada issued a statement affirming the integrity and sanctity of committed same sex relationships.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>· <!–[endif]–>A number of primates and other bishops have taken it upon themselves to intervene in the affairs of other provinces of the Communion.

The Commission called for a moratorium on the blessing of same sex unions, and recommended that bishops who have authorised such rites in the United States and Canada “be invited to express regret that the proper constraints of the bonds of affection were breached by such authorisation.” The report was roundly condemned by the gay community and progressive theologians for its partiality. (For example, while it calls for both liberals and conservatives to express regret for actions contributing to disunity, it acknowledges that conservatives may have committees such actions out of a sense of duty, but extends no such understanding to the Dioceses of New Westminster or New Hampshire).

Anglican Church of Canada

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada in 2004 voted to defer a decision of same-sex blessings until 2007, but also to “Affirm the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships”.^[11]

Diocese of New Westminster

Blessing of same sex unions became a subject of media attention in the Vancouver area in May, 2003 when Bishop Michael Ingham of the Diocese of New Westminster announced that he had given priests in some parishes the authority to bless gay and lesbian unions.^[11]

Bishop Ingham issued a rite of blessing of people in committed same sex unions on May 23, 2003.^[12]

This was done in response to a request by the Diocesan Synod in June, 2002. The diocese considers that the blessing of same sex couples is one part of their work of community outreach and care for parishioners. The blessing is a way that some priests use to ensure that homosexual people who seek to be included in the Anglican Communion feel safe and respected.^[13]

The blessing is a “pastoral tool”.^[13] Some priests in some parishes (six out of 80) bless permanent faithful relationships. Permission is granted by the bishop only when a priest requests it, and a parish has decided by majority vote, that they want to be a place of blessing. Ingham says of the practice:

I insist only that those on all sides of the issue respect one another and that everyone should maintain the order of the church. Our goal in the Anglican Church in the Greater Vancouver area is to be a church that accommodates differences.^[13]

Episcopal Church of the USA

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The issue of blessing of same-sex unions was the subject of a resolution at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church of the USA held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 30 – August 8, 2003. After debate, the following resolution was concurred in and became an Act of the Convention:^[14]

Resolved, That the 74th General Convention affirm the following:

1. That our life together as a community of faith is grounded in the saving work of Jesus Christ and expressed in the principles of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral: Holy Scripture, the historic Creeds of the Church, the two dominical Sacraments, and the Historic Episcopate.

2. That we reaffirm Resolution A069 of the 65th General Convention (1976) that “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church.”

3. That, in our understanding of homosexual persons, differences exist among us about how best to care pastorally for those who intend to live in monogamous, non-celibate unions; and what is, or should be, required, permitted, or prohibited by the doctrine, discipline, and worship of The Episcopal Church concerning the blessing of the same.

4. That we reaffirm Resolution D039 of the 73rd General Convention (2000), that “We expect such relationships will be characterized by fidelity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and the holy love which enables those in such relationships to see in each other the image of God,” and that such relationships exist throughout the church.

5. That we recognize that local faith communities are operating within the bounds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions.

6. That we commit ourselves, and call our church, in the spirit of Resolution A104 of the 70th General Convention (1991), to continued prayer, study, and discernment on the pastoral care for gay and lesbian persons, to include the compilation and development by a special commission organized and appointed by the Presiding Bishop, of resources to facilitate as wide a conversation of discernment as possible throughout the church.

7. That our baptism into Jesus Christ is inseparable from our communion with one another, and we commit ourselves to that communion despite our diversity of opinion and, among dioceses, a diversity of pastoral practice with the gay men and lesbians among us.

8. That it is a matter of faith that our Lord longs for our unity as his disciples, and for us this entails living within the boundaries of the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. We believe this discipline expresses faithfulness to our polity and that it will facilitate the conversation we seek, not only in The Episcopal Church, but also in the wider Anglican Communion and beyond.

Old Catholic Churches (Utrecht Union)

Four churches of the Utrecht Union, which shares full communion with the Anglican Churches through the Bonn Agreement, also permit such blessings: namely, Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands (the mother church) permits blessings of gay civil marriages, and the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland^[15], and Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany permit blessings of gay civil unions. The Old Catholic Church of Austria also permits such blessings (no civil unions there). Because of this (as well as the ordination of women), the Old Catholic Church in Slovakia and Polish National Catholic Church (USA) seceded from the Union in 2004.

Baptist Churches

The Alliance of Baptists has supported the legal right to marry ^[16]; its position on corollary church services is unclear.

Church of Scotland

The 2006 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland voted that blessing civil partnerships should be a matter of conscience for individual ministers. Conservatives in the Kirk argued that the reform would have to be ratified by local presbyteries ^[17].

Lutheran and Reformed Churches

Canada

In 2006, the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Anglican Church of Canada’s full communion partner through the Waterloo Declaration, voted to allow a “local option” provision similar to that in New Westminster, precipitating a dispute between the synod and the national church (which had previously rejected the proposal) as to where the authority to make that decision lay. In September of that year, the ELCIC’s national church council ruled that authority to permit the local option lay with the National Convention ^[18]. The Council agreed to intiate further study on the issue and to bring forward another motion permitting the local option to the 2007 National Convention.

Sweden and Denmark

The Church of Sweden and the Church of Denmark (in full communion with the Anglican Churches of the British Isles through the Porvoo Communion) allow blessings of same-sex couples.^[19]

Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria

In addition, some Lutheran, United and Reformed churches within the Protestant Church in Germany^[20] (Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau, Protestant Church of Bremen, Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover, North Elbian Evangelical Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg, Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia, Protestant Church of Westphalia, Protestant Church of the Palatinate…), in Switzerland, in the Netherlands (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) and Austria bless same-gender unions.

Presbyterian Church (USA)

The Presbyterian Church USA has a limited allowance for such blessings, but does not officially endorse that the unions be consummated.

The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) has ruled that same-sex ceremonies are not forbidden, as long as they are not considered to be the same as marriage services.

Methodism

The Methodist Church of Great Britain voted in 2005 to allow a local option for ministers who wishes to perform same-sex blessings. However, a year later, the Church voted not to allow formal blessings for same-sex partnerships in its churches after all. Ministers may now instead offer informal, private prayers for couples.

Moravian Church (North America)

The Moravian Church in North America’s Northern Province has passed several liberal resolutions on homosexuality, but has not yet been able to “address the issue of a marriage covenant between homosexual persons”.

Protestant Church in the Netherlands

The Protestant Church in the Netherlands has chosen not to address marriage in its post-merger canon law; however, the by-laws of the church allow for the blessing of relationships outside of marriage.

Unity Church

Some ministers of the Unity School of Christianity officiate at commitment ceremonies. The Church prints certificates to recognise these occasions

The Basis of Same Sex Marriage in and outside of the Bible

by Rev. Ptr. Regen Luna

Cultural Basis (Roman Culture)

“Sergius and Bacchus were Roman soldiers who lived in the late third and early fourth centuries. They were male lovers, but it was for their Christian faith that they were persecuted by the Romans. Ultimately, Bacchus was tortured to death by the intolerant Romans. According to Christian tradition, Sergius’s faith faltered with the death of his lover only to return when Bacchus appeared to him in a vision and said, “I am still with you in the bond of union.” Sergius kept faith and, like his friend, died a martyr to the new religion. During the Middle Ages, the relationship of Sergius and Bacchus was considered an exemplar of compassionate union, and possibly even marriage, based on agape (brotherly love) and mutual respect…”

Cultural Basis (Native American)

“We’wha was an important cultural and political leader in the Zuni community in the late nineteenth century. At one point he served as an emissary from that southwestern Native American nation to Washington, D.C. He was the strongest, wisest, and most esteemed member of his community. And he was a berdache, a male who dressed in female garb. Such men were revered in Zuni culture for their supposed connection to the supernatural. The most gifted berdache were Ihamana, spiritual leaders. We’wha was the most celebrated Zuni Ihamana of the nineteenth century. He was married to a man…”

Cultural Basis (Nigerian)

“Ifeyinwa Olinke lived in the nineteenth century as well. She was a member of the Igbo tribe, situated in what is now eastern Nigeria. She was an industrious and wealthy woman in a community where most of the entrepreneurial opportunities were seized by women. If eyinwa socially overshadowed her less prosperous male husband. As a sign of her prosperity and social standing, she herself became a female husband to other women. Indeed, the epithet Olinke refers to the fact that she had nine wives…”

Cultural Basis (Mesopotamian)

“Mesopotamian mores pertaining to same-sex relationships are illustrated in the most celebrated of the Near Eastern myths, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Written through a collective process over several generations, the epic describes the relationship between Gilgamesh, the great powerful ruler of Uruk, and Enkidu, a male created by the gods to divert Gilgamesh from wreaking havoc in the world. Gilgamesh and Enkidu become comrades, friends, and lovers before Enkidu dim at the hands of the fates. Enkidu is often called Gilgamesh’s “brother” (ahu), a term connoting family-like intimacy. Significantly, Gilgamesh’s feeling for Enkidu is modeled on sexual attraction. In the two dreams chat presage the arrival of Enkidu, Gilgamesh takes pleasure in his vision of Enkidu as in a woman.

The Assyrian version of the myth refers to Enkidu, “[I loved it, and like] a wife I caressed it.”‘ When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh mourns for him as a widow (literally, “a wailing woman”) would have mourned and veils his corpse as if it were a bride. Because the Epic of Gilgamesh was a collective project and achieved great popularity in ancient times, one might infer that same-sex relationships had some resonance in the cultures of ancient Babylonia and Assyria. This inference is supported by evidence that several Mesopotamian monarchs (notably Hammurabi, the great Babylonian lawgiver) openly enjoyed male lovers. Moreover, the Almanac of Incantations contained prayers favoring, on an equal basis, the love of a man for a woman, a woman for a man, and a man for a man…”

Cultural Basis (Greek)

“While historians have not ventured to consider these relationships to be marriages, they have demonstrated that they often followed the same courtship rituals as marriages. A closer link between same-sex relationships and marriage was a ritualized same-sex courtship in Crete. The ancient geographer Strabo described the “peculiar laws regarding love” followed on that island, whereby two men would become “partners” (or “companions”) after the abduction of one by the other, followed by a feast where the partners announced their mutual intentions before witnesses. Several historians have characterized these Cretan abduction ceremonies as same-sex “marriages.” Another Greek island, Lesbos, gave the Western world the concept of female same-sex relationships, which probably had broader currency. Eva Cantarella believes that some of the lesbian relationships arising out of female collectives (thiasoi) were “initiation marriages” similar to the male same-sex unions common in the city states…”

persecuted by the Romans. Ultimately, Bacchus was tortured to death by the intolerant Romans. According to Christian tradition, Sergius’s faith faltered with the death of his lover only to return when Bacchus appeared to him in a vision and said, “I am still with you in the bond of union.” Sergius kept faith and, like his friend, died a martyr to the new religion. During the Middle Ages, the relationship of Sergius and Bacchus was considered an exemplar of compassionate union, and possibly even marriage, based on agape (brotherly love) and mutual respect…”

Cultural Basis (Native American)

Cultural Basis (Nigerian)

Cultural Basis (Spanish)

“Accounts by stunned Spanish explorers, missionaries, and bureaucrats provide early evidence of same-sex relationships and marriages in the Americas. Francisco Lopez de Gomara’s History of the Indies (1552), one of many examples, reported that “the men marry other men who are impotent or castrated and go around like women, perform their duties and are used as such and who cannot carry or use the bow.” Same-sex unions between women were also reported: Pedro de Magalhaes’s The Histories of Brazil (1576) described Native American women in northeastern Brazil who “give up all the duties of women and imitate men, and follow men’s pursuits as if they were not women…. [E]ach has a woman to serve her, to whom she says she is married, and they treat each other and speak with each other as man and wife…”

THE CASE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Chapter 2 The History of Same-Sex Marriage
Copyright © 1996 by William N. Eskridge, Jr.

THE BASIS FROM CHURCH HISTORY

“…the Church was doctrinally critical of same-sex erotic intimacy because it could not result in procreation and constituted sex outside of marriage. On the other hand, the Church favored same-sex companionate intimacy; agape between brothers, such as the love of Sergius and Bacchus, was the Christian ideal. Church practice thrust the faithful into “homosexual” environments (schools, monasteries, nunneries) that were sure to engender what we would today deem sexual responses. Erotic feelings repeatedly arose between teachers and students, clerics and their fellows and acolytes, yearnings chat are documented in a proliferation of love letters, poems, and stories written in the Middle Ages…

In the early Middle Ages the Church developed institutions, memorialized in liturgies included in its formal collections, that combined the Church’s spiritual commitment to companionate relationships with its members’ desire to bond with people of the same sex. The existence of Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox rituals of “brother-making” or “enfraternization” has been known in the academic literature for decades and was brought to my attention by the Reverend Alexei Michalenko.’ Ceremonies creating these brotherhoods were performed for same-sex couples (often male missionary pairs) from the fifth century onward…

According to Church archives, these early liturgies were typically structured as follows: – The couple stand in front of the lectern, on which are placed the Gospel and a cross. The older of the brothers stands to the right.

The ceremony starts off with prayers and litanies celebrating earlier examples of same-sex couples or friends in the early Church. Sergius and Bacchus were the most frequency invoked precedent.
The couple is girded with a single belt, signifying their union as one, and they place their hands on the Gospel and receive lit candles.
The priest reads from one of Paul’s episodes (1 Cor 12:27 £) and the Gospel (John 17:1016), which are followed by more prayers…”

The assembled are led in the Lord’s Prayer, followed by Holy Communion, the Eucharist, for the couple. The priest leads the couple, who are holding hands, around the lectern while the assembled sing a hymn. – The couple exchange a kiss, and the service concludes with the singing of Psalm 132:1 (”Behold how good and sweet it is for brothers to live as one”). Significantly, this early brotherhood liturgy was acted out in formal terms very similar to the liturgy later developed by the Church for the purpose of performing different-sex marriages…”

THE CASE FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Chapter 2 The History of Same-Sex Marriage
Copyright © 1996 by William N. Eskridge, Jr.

THE BASIS INSIDE THE BIBLE

David & Jonathan’s Love

I Samuel 18:1-4
I Samuel 20:17
I Samuel 20:41-42
II Samuel 1:26

Ruth & Naomi’s Love

Ruth 1:16-17

The Centurions love for the slave

Luke 7:1-10

THE RITE OF HOLY UNION

The Rite of Holy Union at MCC Philippines is a mixture of liturgies from the Historical Adelphoia Rite, and from the Liturgy of UFMCC.

PROCESSIONAL (Optional)

OPENING PRAYER: Pastor

OPENING REMARKS: Pastor

PRAISE FROM THE BOOK OF PSALMS:

LEADER: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands.

PEOPLE: We praise you God of Love!

LEADER: Serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing.

PEOPLE: We praise you God of Love!

LEADER: Know ye that the Lord He is God, it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves, we are His people, the sheep of his pasture.

PEOPLE: We praise you God of Love!

LEADER: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise, be thankful unto him and bless his name.

PEOPLE: We praise you God of Love!

LEADER: For the Lord is good his mercy is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations.

PEOPLE: We praise you God of Love!

THE FIRST READING

READER: A Reading from the Book of Ruth Chapter 1 verses 16 to 18. (After reading) My Brothers and Sisters the word of the Lord.

PEOPLE: Thanks be to God.

THE SECOND READING

READER: A Reading from the first Letter of Paul to the Cporinthians Chapter 13 verses 4 to 13. (After reading) My Brothers and Sisters the word of the Lord.

PEOPLE: Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL READING

LEADER: Let us stand to honor the Gospel.

PASTOR: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke Chapter 7 verses 1 to 10. (After reading) My Brothers and Sisters the Gospel of our Salvation.

PEOPLE: We give you praise, O Lord Jesus Christ!

PREPARATION FOR THE HOLY UNION

PRAYER OF PREPARATION: Pastor

THE COVENANT OF THE COUPLE

PASTOR: NAME & NAME, you are about to make a solemn promise. Do you believe that God has called you to live together in love?

COUPLE: We do believe.

PASTOR: Do you promise to be loyal to each other, never allowing any other relationship to come before the one you are about to affirm?

COUPLE: We do promise.

PASTOR: Will you give yourselves wholeheartedly and without reservation?

COUPLE: We will.

PASTOR: Will you under God recognize one another ‘s freedom to grow as a couple and as individuals and allow each other time and space to do so?

COUPLE: We will.

THE COVENANT OF THE WITNESSES

PASTOR: Will all of you the chosen witnesses of this celebration do all in your power to support and strengthen NAME & NAME in the days ahead?

WITNESSES: We will.

PASTOR: Let us pray. For this loving couple, we pray that they may be filled with unity , creativity and love.