Saint Athanasius Church

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Traditional Marriage 

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     We believe that Christ and His Apostle Paul have instructed His Church to believe that the primitive Edenic union between the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, is to be the standard for marriage in the New Covenant dispensation (Mark 10:2-12, Luke 16:18, Matthew 19:3-12, Romans 7:2-3, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 39). This means that the marriage covenant is a creational ordinance for all mankind in which one man and one woman are bound together for as long as both are living. We believe that this most accurately reflects Christ's covenant with His Bride, The Church. Divorce may be permitted for unrepentant sexual immorality or desertion by an unbelieving spouse, but in such cases the believing spouse must remain single or be reconciled to their lawful spouse. 

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     Any remarriage to another man or woman entered into while the divorced/separated spouse is still alive is considered unlawful and adulterous by dominical decree of our Lord and reiterated by His Apostle Paul. As such, true repentance requires separation from the unlawful adulterous marriage. Refusal to repent of such an unlawful relationship and submit one's life to the commands of our Lord is high handed rebellion and that person will be considered an immoral brother. As such, they will be excommunicated from all fellowship of the saints and the Table of our Lord. Once a person repents via separation from their unlawful spouse, they will be joyfully restored to full fellowship with the saints and given full access to the Table of our Lord. 

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     We believe the abdication of most church leadership to discipline their members on this issue, and the leadership's complicity in perpetuating and defending this damnable sin is the root cause of our cultural degeneracy. As such, we wish to build a community which removes the leaven before it leavens the whole lump. We believe all the churches of Christ should follow our example in this, which will be the beginnings of a true reformation and revival of the catholic (universal) church, our culture, and our politics. We believe that as long as we fellowship with unrepentant covenant breakers, we will not see a significant outpouring of God's renewing grace, and we will continue to be more severely chastened by the rod of the ungodly.

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     For a more detailed explanation of this doctrine see Contra Mundum Swagger: Following Christ in a Divorce Culture by our pastor, Jack Shannon, here and here.