Fr. John Behr: Marriage is a Form of Martyrdom

After dealing with controversial topics such as the sexual orientation of monasticism, the Catholic background of mainstreaming gay marriage, and the malicious historical ignorance of the head of the FBI I’d like to kick back a bit and do something on Orthodox theology rather than history.

This is also a way of checking whether my wife actually reads this blog. If she does, I might be sleeping on the couch.

Fr. John Behr is dean of St. Vladimir’s Seminary and author of Becoming Human, The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death, and accounts of the Early Councils entitled The Way to Nicea and The Nicene Faith.

Take a look at the video below for some generously corny and bearded humor and some interesting theological insights from Fr. Behr.

Specifically, what he says about marriage lines up nicely with what Fabrice Hadjadj has to say about it in the longread interview I translated for Ethika Politika.

Similar thoughts were developed by John Paul II in a series of controversial audiences delivered in the 1980’s. Fabrice Hadjadj believes they are the most theological innovative thing to come to Christianity since St. Paul.