NEW YORK, NY—The Armenian Religious Education Council (AREC) of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America has issued the first of a series of seven booklets on contemporary ethical issues. The first booklet explores the issues of Homosexuality and Same-Sex Union. All of the topics are explored from an Armenian Orthodox Perspective. This series is considered to be a pioneering effort not only for the Armenian Church but for all of Orthodoxy.

Subsequent topics to be explored include: Marriage and Divorce; Procreation and Reproductive Technology; Abortion; Genetic Screening and Genetic Technology; Suicide and Euthanasia; Organ Donation and Cremation.

Although the points of view expressed in this series are not the official position of the Armenian Church, the issues are explored from a biblical and orthodox perspective and may be considered as a first-step for the Church toward a standpoint. The issue of homosexuality is affecting all main line western religions. All of the issues that will be explored in this series are presented with a Christian and Biblical perspective.
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His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, in his pontifical message declaring 2008 the Year of Christian Education, expressed the need for the church’s guidance on current issues. He said: “…It is necessary that present-day concerns and challenges facing humankind not be taken lightly. Christ did the same thing. The events and issues of his time were a dominant presence in the examples he gave and the parables he told. We cannot ignore the present world. Christianity is not a self-centered reality apart from society. The Son of God came into this world to revolutionize and renew life. Christian education must be accomplished with the same approach, in order to prepare the kind of Christians who, being fully cognizant of the evils and crises of the present-day world, can become committed to changing the order of human-centered values prevailing in today’s society, in accordance with the truths and imperatives of the Christian faith.”

The series is being written by the well-known and respected theologian and educator, Vigen Guroian, Professor of Theology and Ethics at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. Professor Guroian received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1970 and received his Ph.D. in Theology from Drew University in 1978. Dr. Guroian sits on numerous editorial boards and he has served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Executive Committee of Christians Associated for Relations with Eastern Europe. He has been active in both the National Council of Churches and in the World Council of Churches. He was the first Armenian theologian ever elected to the American Theological Society and the Orthodox Theological Society of America. Dr. Guroian has published more than 150 articles in books, journals, and encyclopedias on a range of subjects including liturgy and ethics, marriage and family, children’s literature, ecology, genocide, and medical ethics. He is the author of ten books, with several more forthcoming. His articles and books have received wide praise and national attention.

The 32-page booklet is $5.00, plus shipping and handling. To place orders contact the Prelacy Bookstore, 138 E. 39th Street, New York, New York 10016, 212-689-7810, books@armenianprelacy.org.