The joint effort of the Christian, Catholic and Russian Orthodox, Churches for the defense of the common values of Christian ethics, especially concerning life, marriage and the family, and for helping the marginalized and persecuted Christians in the Middle East were the central topics of the Encounter “Orthodox and Catholics Together for the Family,” hosted by the Pontifical Council for the Family together with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Department for External Relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow, on Wednesday, November 13th, 2013. At the end a joint document was read. This meeting—observed Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Dicastery—represents «another step forward on the common path of the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church».
 
«The two Churches, the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodox Church, work side by side in promoting and defending the Christian values of the family, which—as Pope Francis has said—is the ‘driving force of society and history’», said Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia in his opening speech. «In our globalized and individualistic culture, cohabitation is preferred to marriage, personal autonomy to dependence and mutual responsibility, in a true ‘idolatry of the ego.’ Stable relationships are deemed impossible and therefore should not even to be sought». However, «the family is the vital cell of universal fraternity and of society. If the family is in crisis, society is too». Yet, «despite repeated attacks on the family, we are not desperate. The family is stronger than the foolishness of men, the decisions of certain politicians and the ramblings of some intellectuals, and stronger than fads of an epoch». In fact, marriage is «a primordial sacrament, on the level of God’s creation, which becomes a sacrament of grace in the plan of Redemption».The future of the family is based on the «alliance between the ‘small domestic church’ and the universal Church».
 
«The union, the alliance between man and woman is one of the most important themes in the Bible: a man shall leave the house of his father and his mother, and the two shall become one», said the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church Hilarion Alfeev. «The Bible also says that, if hearts are hardened and the family destroys itself, this leads to pain and despair. The family is the nest, in which you receive the food of life as well as the first lesson on what is good and what is bad and on how to make out the difference». In the Holy Scriptures, frequent use is made of the «metaphor of the house and the family to indicate man’s relationship with God and the unity of God’s people». Marriage is not only based on love, but on the «will to live together as a domestic church». The family is «a small church, a living icon of Christ, in which God’s precepts are transmitted from generation to generation». The attack against the family, says Hilarion, is «an attack against the human person» and «the culmination of the aggression against the Christian religion». Concerning the pro-life demonstrations in France, those against the legalization of same-sex marriages, the Metropolitan said that «the state has responded with unheard of hardness to the millions of families who went into the streets to defend marriage and the family, arresting and beating people, as if this were a violent revolt. The union in marriage of a man and a woman open to procreation is the basis of Christian ethics and does not imply discrimination against other forms of emotional relationships, which are not marriages». Then he added: «The extreme individualism and the popular way of understanding sexual freedom reduces humanity to beastly instincts. The core values of the human being, such as sociability, responsibility towards others and fraternity are reduced to relative values that individuals interpret as they wish. If a man loses his core values, the man himself gets lost». Therefore, it is urgent for «united Christians to share the mission of witnessing to God’s will in their lives, in a joint effort to defend the values of marriage and the family, with all the available tools».
 
«Globalization accelerates and multiplies some typical effects of modernity: it tends to homogenize cultures, to universalize memberships, and to stimulate exaggerated individualism, by releasing the individual from the relationship with his family and his original community», said the psychoanalyst Paul Ferliga. «People are beginning to lack the social and moral norms necessary for integrating themselves into the community and giving meaning to their lives. The basis of confidence necessary for the development of authentic human relations and for allowing the transmission of values from one generation to the next has disappeared». Moreover, «the liquidation of the cultural identity leads also to personal liquidation».Confidence in oneself and in others—continues Dr. Ferliga—comes from «proximity, of a physical and mental sort, with parents, with one’s father and mother, and it is the model for other relationships». Today, «the family continues to be a fundamental reference, despite the deep changes that it has gone through in recent years», even though «it is decreasingly a place of socialization and cultural education for young people». But, in order to educate their children, «parents need to educate themselves first».
For Father Antonio Pitta, Professor of New Testament Exegesis, the situation of the primitive Christian Church is “fundamental” for understanding «the relationship between the family, the ‘small domestic church,’ and the universal Church». «God’s Church is identified with the Church that meets in your home, in the home of every family. There is no distinction between Church and family; the Church is made visible in the family», Fr. Pitta said. «Christianity has its origins in the family. Christianity has spread thanks to Christian couples, Mass was celebrated in the houses». And therefore, «the Church of Rome is, in its genetic nature, a Church of families».
 
Michail Zheltov, professor of Ecclesiastical and Pastoral Sciences in Moscow, says that «marriage is created by God for man, and this is confirmed in the teaching of the Gospel. Marriage is a charism, a grace, a gift of goodness». Now, this message is present in most passages of the Gospel and in the Bible from Genesis on, and it is found in the prayers of the Christian rites of marriage. Marriage is «rooted in human nature from the beginning».With the spouses who are going to be united in the sacramental bond the priest prays: «We thank you, good God, for giving us this gift and for saying to us, ‘Go, and fill the earth!’».Then, there is the prayer: «Good God, you who created the human being from the dust, did not want him to be alone on earth, and you unite us in marriage». Marriage is a mystery: «the mystery of Christ’s union with the Church. A man and a woman love one another as Christ and the Church are united with each other». And therefore, «marriage reaches its fullness when the spouses go beyond the limitations of human nature in the perspective of the Gospel, in an eschatological dimension».