Pastoral Resources
Unplanned Pregnancy
Local Pregancy Resources:
Find a pregnancy center in your church’s area - https://resources.care-net.org/find-a-pregnancy-center/#lp-pom-block-120
Heartbeat International's Worldwide Directory lists a wide variety of life-affirming pregnancy help service provider locations - https://www.heartbeatinternational.org/worldwide-directory
ZOEFORLIFE.ORG | 216.471.8065. An Orthodox Christian pregnancy support ministry based in Ohio, which may be able to connect you with assistance in your area. https://zoeforlife.org/need-help/
ZOE for Life!® Southern Tier | 607.398.0822. An Orthodox Christian-based organization in New York State formed to provide confidential, non-discriminatory, and life-affirming material, emotional, and spiritual support at no cost to women and families needing help with a pregnancy. https://zoeforlifestier.org/
Communion Through Obedience: Ministering to those in Crisis Pregnancies – Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR) Annual Conference 2019: “Isolation. Violence. Hope and Communion”
Pregnancy Loss
Pastoral Guidelines for Pregnancy Loss
Orthodox Pregnancy Loss Prayers - Blessed for use in the Diocese of New York and New Jersey of the Orthodox Church in America by His Eminence, The Most Reverend MICHAEL, Archbishop of New York and the Diocese of New York and New Jersey. September 2012.
Memory Eternal: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians by Sarah Byrne-Martelli. A wonderful help in working through any type of grief written from a distinctly Orthodox world view. The book also describes how to offer a grief group that may be beneficial to your parish.
Post Abortion Recovery
SUPPORTAFTERABORTION.COM | 844.289.HOPE
Phone and text helpline offering referrals through a network of local post-abortion recovery programs.
Resources to help you process and reflect on abortion's impact in your life, and a directory of post-abortion recovery programs.
HOPEAFTERABORTION.COM | 888.456.HOPE
A wealth of information about post-abortion trauma and related research, and a directory of Catholic diocesan post-abortion healing programs.
Sexual Assault, trauma or Abuse
Tips for Talking with Survivors of Sexual Assault - source: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
800.656.HOPE (4673) | online.rainn.org | The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE,online.rainn.org) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country
Serving the Most Vulnerable Among Us: The Orthodox Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in our Congregations – Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR) Annual Conference 2019: “Isolation. Violence. Hope and Communion”
Mental Health Resources
Directory of Orthodox Christian Mental Health Professionals - https://www.assemblyofbishops.org/directories/mental-health/
24/7 Suicide Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or DIAL 988
Additional Resources
Resources For Immediate Response - https://mhanational.org/crisisresources
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233 | text LOVEIS to 22522
For any victims and survivors who need support, call 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-799-7233 for TTY, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 22522.
The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline: 800.656.HOPE (4673)
Call 800.656.HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area.
Abortion Pill Reversal Hotline - 877-558-0333 | abortionpillreversal.com
It’s not uncommon for women to experience regret after beginning a chemical abortion. From the moment a woman takes the abortion pill, she has about 72 hours to change her mind and save her baby. The Abortion Pill Rescue Network, through Option Line's 24/7 contact center, answers more than 150 mission-critical calls a month from women who regret their abortion decision. Statistics show that more than 3,000 lives have been saved (and counting) through the abortion pill reversal protocol!
2019 AAPLOG Position Statement on Abortion Pill Reversal - https://aaplog.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/2019-AAPLOG-Statement-on-Abortion-Pill-Reversal.pdf
American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians And Gynecologists (AAPLOG)
Position Statements from AAPLOG
Embryocidal Potential of Modern Contraceptives - The mechanism of action of contraceptive drugs and devices forms an essential part of informed consent for patients considering various methods of family planning. Currently the literature is confusing at best, in part due to non-uniform definitions of basic terms, as well as the misinterpretation of endpoints of current. AAPLOG members take different positions on the issue of contraception per se. The purpose of this document is to investigate and summarize the current evidence-based concerns regarding potential embryocidal mechanisms of action of modern contraceptive drugs and devices.
Pro-Life Laws Protect Mom and Baby: Pregnant Women’s Lives are Protected in All States - One false claim of abortion proponents is that treatment for miscarriage will be illegal in states that ban abortion. This is false; help for a woman miscarrying is explicitly allowed in every pro-life state.
Communion Through Obedience: Ministering to those in Crisis Pregnancies – Orthodox Christian Association of Medicine, Psychology, and Religion (OCAMPR) Annual Conference 2019: “Isolation. Violence. Hope and Communion”
Synodal Statements
Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon on the overturning of Roe v. Wade - Monday, June 27, 2022
Synodal Affirmations on Marriage, Family, Sexuality, and the Sanctity of Life, July, 1992