Christian ethical teachings are of great importance to the Christian tradition as they provide all Christian adherents with the guidance necessary to make informed moral decisions in response to a wide range of contemporary ethical issues in their daily lives. These teachings of Christianity are established predominantly within the Christian Scriptures, however particular denominations, including Catholicism and Orthodoxy, accept the authority of a number of other sources in addition to these scriptures. While the Catholic Church holds in high regard the “Catechism of the Catholic Church”, as well as Church documents, including “Gaudium et Spes” and “Evangelium Vitae”, the Orthodox Church takes into account the “Foundations of the social concept of the Orthodox community Russian". Church." The ethical teachings derived from these sources are based on the belief that the human person is an image of God endowed with intellect, free will, and the power of self-determination, and have a great influence on the choices Christians make about life. ethical issues of euthanasia and abortion. The teachings of the Christian denominations of Catholicism and Orthodoxy provide their adherents with guidance on the ethical issue of abortion: the removal of an embryo or fetus from the uterus prior to normal birth. for the purpose of deliberately terminating a human pregnancy. Both denominations condemn abortion in mutual acceptance that it is morally wrong, stating: «From the first moment of his existence, the human being must be recognized as having the rights of the person inviolable right of every innocent being to life" (Catechism, n. 2270), the Catechism of the Catholic Church demonstrates the Catholic teaching according to which every human being has... middle of paper... one's life is a sin and every person must live according to God's plan. Euthanasia, however, is a form of human intervention in God's will and a rejection of God's plan. For these reasons, the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church condemned “all crimes against life, including… euthanasia” (Gaudium et Spes 27), and the Orthodox Church, “cannot recognize [euthanasia] as morally acceptable” (Bases of the Social Convention Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, XII, n . 8). Ultimately, the teachings of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian denominations provide guidance to their adherents on the contemporary ethical issue of euthanasia. The ethical teachings of Christianity, particularly those of the Christian and Orthodox denominations, play a vital role in providing all adherents with guidance on the contemporary ethical issues of euthanasia and abortion.