Met. Saba: Marriage Is a 'Path to Paradise'

Photo: Antiochian Archdiocese

ENGLEWOOD, NJ — In an address on Orthodox family life, His Eminence Met. Saba drew extensively from the 2019 pastoral letter Family, the Joy of Life, issued by Patriarch John X and the Holy Synod of Antioch.

Amid "much confusion in contemporary culture about sexuality, marriage, and parenthood," Metropolitan Saba emphasized biblical marital imagery, noting Christ's use of the wedding feast as a sign of the Kingdom (Matt. 22:1-14; John 2:1-11) and St. Paul's teaching that husband-wife relations reflect Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:21-33).

He explained that Christ's miracle at Cana healed the broken "one flesh" union: “With His blessing, marriage has been restored as a path for man and woman to return to Paradise and as a sign of the salvation of the world.”

In the Orthodox wedding, couples are crowned, their union a vocation to holiness. Quoting the Joy of Life, he states: "Conjugal love is not exclusively expressed in sexual relations, but in everyday mutual love and respect and self-giving that touches upon every aspect of life, bestowing upon it its glorious splendor.”

He also points out that St. John Chrysostom taught that married couples may attain a level of "perfection [that] will rival the holiest of monks."

Orthodoxy views marital intimacy positively, he concludes with family planning decided prayerfully in consultation with a spiritual father.

Through grace-filled marriage, spouses prepare for "the wedding feast of the Lamb."

Recently, the UOJ reported that Met. Saba gifted Met. Nicholas (ROCOR) the belt of St. Raphael of Brooklyn.

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