Jason Radcliff: Patristic Theologies of Holy Orders and the Homosexual Issue Today

The paper explores patristic theologies of Holy Orders and how they might speak into the issue of the ordination of homosexuals today. The paper focuses upon the incarnational and sacramental theology of the Fathers as a uniquely Christological approach to ordination. The paper does not seek to provide an answer to the question “what should Christianity believe about homosexuality?” but rather offers a critique of the traditional Liberal vs. Biblicist dichotomy of approaching the issue from either the standpoint of culture or the Bible and theologically explores a via media in the form of the incarnational, sacramental, and Christological approach of the Church Fathers. The paper ultimately seeks to ask: how might we remove this important debate from such a false dichotomy and place it in the realm of incarnational theology, answering not from the basis of a cultural or Biblicist framework but from the basis of God’s economy and self-revelation in Jesus Christ as understood by the patristic tradition? Highlighting recent discussions such as that at the Theological Forum at the Church of Scotland General Assembly, this paper primarily aims to offer a reconstruction of the Church Fathers and their theology of ordination around the Person of Jesus Christ in light of the questions raised by homosexual debate in the church today.