Love, sexuality, marriage

This article by Sophie Stavrou, drawn from the roundtable discussions of an Orthodox theology conference, addresses the relationship between love, sexuality and marriage from both an anthropological and sacramental perspective. The author begins with the observation of a semantic and historical asymmetry between the notions of love and sexuality, revealing a persistent tension within the Christian tradition, which has long associated sexuality with sin and valorized the monastic model to the detriment of the conjugal state. The article then examines how the experience of falling in love can constitute an opening to the mystery of God, and how the sacrament of marriage, understood as the "sacrament of love," reconciles carnal love and spiritual love. The theological contribution lies in an Orthodox reinterpretation of marriage that rehabilitates corporeality and sexuality as legitimate dimensions of the journey toward God, in dialogue with contemporary society.