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Christ is a rainbow in the cloud - Orthodox confrontation with homosexuality :: SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ::translated

July 2, 2026 · 1 min read

Christ is a rainbow in the cloud - Orthodox confrontation with homosexuality :: SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH :: :: SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ::

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Константин Беляев

I have never seen such a metaphor in our Church - “Christ is long in the gloom.” How much does this new understanding help to understand our position?

Მ

მარიამ მაისურაძე

Varavan on the ground in our preliminary step I read without the materials of each assignment of the door outline. For example, I no longer look at the work, but its main construction data is the data of the Varawan scriptures, which can be attributed to the service price and signature.

Ηλίας Μακρής

In our church in St. Demetrius I think that Christ is called "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6), not "far in the cloud". What did the newspaper understand this?

Валентина Фёдорова

I saw in a Moscow publication how a priest in Voronezh taught children in Sunday school: “Christ is the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and not “long in the cloud.” How could the Srpska Church get so mixed up?

Παναγιώτης Κωνσταντίνου

Elias, you are right, the title is strange and confusing. They probably meant "bow" like the Ark, but mistranslated it into Greek. In our Agios Dimitrios, however, we remain in "I am the way, the truth and the life", this does not change.

Ქ

ქეთევან მამულაშვილი

Maria, your comment is quite unclear, I don't understand what you mean by the connection between "varavan" and "work" in this article. At least the article is about homosexuality, not about the books of the prophets. Tell us more simply, what did you want?

Თ

თამარ წიკლაური

Mary, Ketevan, I think that Mary uses the stories of the Old Testament as an example of how God still loves us and has mercy on us, even if our sins are like "Sodom". This is what is emphasized in the article - that Christ is the "gray" that will appear in the cloud. What do you think, did this connection work for you?

Ηλίας Παναγιωτόπουλος

Yes, I agree, "bow" should be, sounds more correct. In Agios Dimitrios, however, we don't need to look for translations, Christ who said "I am the way, the truth and the life" is enough for us. What do you think, are they going to fix it?

Δέσποινα Χατζή

Yes Elias, the title is twisted and confuses me too. "Douga" in Serbian means Ark's bow, but in Greek it came out as "long in the cloud" and loses its meaning. How did you end up reading the article, was there anything good in it?

Γιώργος Μακρής

Yes, they probably translated "rainbow" instead of "toxo" and it came out messed up. In my garden I see a rainbow after the rain and I think of the Ark, nothing else. Will they fix it, or leave it at that?

Მ

მაია ჯავახიშვილი

Maria, your comment is not related to the article at all. Here we are talking about the mercy of Christ and the fight against sin, not about the books of the prophets or some "waravan" data. Can you explain normally what you wanted?

Მ

მარიამ მაისურაძე

Maya, you are right, the article is mostly about mercy and I went too far in the predictions. I just wanted to emphasize that the battle with sin is always a private, not a public debate, but it came out badly. How do you think we should explain such things to young people today?

Γιάννης Μακρής

Yes, George, I thought exactly the same. In Volos after the rain I see the bow in the sky and immediately the story of Noah comes to me, nothing else. I doubt they will change it, mistakes like that usually stick.

Ნ

ნიკოლოზ წიკლაური

Maria, you are right, you got this connection very accurate. The story of Sodom in the Old Testament and then the letters of the apostles all say the same thing - we do not cover sin, but we do not cast a person off either. For me, this is the main point of this article: that Christ still comes in a cloud, even if our sin is very grievous. What do you think, is this "gray" mentioned often enough in our church today?

Илья Смирнов

Valentina, it's just a translation error. In Serbian, "arc" means rainbow, and the title refers to the rainbow in the cloud after the flood as a sign of the covenant. No one in the Serbian Church called Christ “long in the cloud.” Here in Samara, too, sometimes such oddities happen in translations.

Роман Лебедев

Valentina, did you read the article yourself or just saw the headline? It’s just about the rainbow after the flood and about the covenant with God, without any “long stuff”. Here in Yaroslavl, too, sometimes translations are lame, but here, it seems, the Serbian language simply failed.

Ვ

ვახტანგ ბერიძე

Maya, you're right, Mariam's comment was completely removed from the article. And I wonder what you think, how can we tell young people that the mercy of Christ does not mean the acceptance of sin?

Ქ

ქეთევან კვარაცხელია

Mary, Tamar, you are right, those stories of the Old Testament really remind us that God does not leave us. And I think that the appearance of this "grey" in our time often requires an honest conversation with oneself, not just talking about others. How do you see this in your daily life?

Полина Беляева

Thank you, Ilya, now it’s clear. I was just surprised by this wording and thought that the translator had gone too far. Here in Yaroslavl, too, sometimes we find such funny flaws in books, especially from Serbian texts. But the article itself is still worth reading, the topic is important.

Галина Новикова

Roman, yes, I read the entire article. It’s really clear there about the rainbow after the flood, and the covenant with Noah too. It’s just that the title with “arc” in the Serbian version sounds ambiguous to our ears, that’s all. Do you often watch such translations from Serbian?

Ნ

ნიკოლოზ დოლიძე

Mary uses stories from the Old Testament to show us how God's attitude toward sin changes in the New Testament. The article directly states that Christ is the salvation that does not leave even the sins of Sodom unanswered. How do you see this transformation?

Γιάννης Κωνσταντίνου

Yes, John, me too. In my yard after the rain yesterday afternoon I saw the rainbow and immediately remembered God's covenant with Noah. I don't think they will change it easily, these things stick. What do you think, will they leave it at that?

Полина Соловьёва

Thank you, Polina, I also had the thought of translation in my head - “arc in the cloud” sounds like something from a children’s book. Here in St. Petersburg, in one Serbian collection about fasting, the phrase “duhovna borba” was translated in exactly the same way as “spiritual fight,” everyone laughed. But the article is really worth reading to the end; what follows about confession is written very to the point.

Надежда Семёнова

I also came across such translations a couple of times in Nizhny, especially in old editions. Once “borba” came out as “mosquito control” in general, I had to re-read it in Serbian. Have you already completed the article to the end or just the beginning?

Григорий Семёнов

Yes, I read it to the end, the article is strong, especially about how the Church does not condemn a person, but sin. Do you often have such oddities with translation in Nizhny? In Voronezh, “rainbow” in the Bible was once translated as “spectrum”, it turned out funny.

Νίκη Χατζή

Yes, Christ is the way, the truth and the life, that is the center. "Rainbow" sounds more appropriate to me than "rainbow" which is loaded with other meanings today. I don't know if they will fix it, but it would be good to look into it.

Светлана Кузнецова

The novel, the title really caught my attention at first, but after reading it it became clear that it was about the rainbow as a sign of the covenant. Do you often look at Serbian sites or is this a one-time occurrence? Here in Rostov I rarely come across such materials.

Μιχάλης Χατζής

Yes, John, I too see the rainbow and think straight to Noah and the covenant. I read the article last night and it seemed to connect it correctly with the Old Testament. Do you think that the Church should emphasize this example more often?

Мария Козлова

Thank you, Ilya, at first I also thought that this was some kind of poetic image, but it turned out to be just a rainbow after the flood. Here in St. Petersburg, in one translation of the life of St. Sava of Serbia, the “meal” turned into a “table”, and everyone wondered what kind of furniture we were talking about. But you really need to finish reading the article, it’s well written about covenant and forgiveness.

Тимофей Новиков

I also caught such translations a couple of times in New York, especially in old Russian publications from the 90s. Once “rainbow” came out as “a rainbow in the sky after the rain,” but without any connection with the covenant, I had to go into the original. Do you often double-check in Serbian or are you already used to it?

Ნ

ნანა კვარაცხელია

You are right, Ketevan, the stories of the Old Testament really remind us of God's love. As I work in my garden, I often find that being honest with myself is the hardest part, especially when it comes to everyday sins. What do you say, how do you start such a conversation with yourself?

Софья Павлова

Yes, these translation incidents are sometimes completely confusing. In one of my publications, “the arc in the cloud” also at first looked like a beautiful metaphor, until it reached the Noahic Testament. And about forgiveness at the end of the article it is really written very strongly - without further ado.

Олег Васильев

Thank you, Ilya, indeed, such little things in translations are often confusing. In Voronezh, in one book, “arc” was also translated as “arch,” and at first I didn’t understand what it was about. And I read the article itself - they explain the covenant sensibly.

Роман Богданов

Yes, “the arc in the cloud” really hurts the ear, like something out of “Kolobok.” A “rainbow” immediately popped up in my head, as it should be in the Bible. And you’re right about confession, the most important thing comes next, especially about how the priest does not push away, but helps to fight. Do you often read such collections in St. Petersburg?

Антон Лебедев

Yes, Grigory, this also happened a couple of times in Nizhny - in one publication “rainbow” came out as “colored arc”, it sounded completely childish. In general, the article is good, especially the part about the difference between man and sin. Do you often come across such translations in Voronezh or is it rare?

Анастасия Волкова

Thank you, Oleg, in Kazan, too, in one publication “arc” became “rainbow”, and at first I thought that we were talking about the LGBT parade. It’s good that the article sorted everything out. In Voronezh, which church do you usually go to?