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Both, the embryo as well as the adult are potential human persons in different phases of development, growing in the image of God and trying to reach the likeness of God. As a result the Orthodox understanding is that unborn human life should have the same opportunity to grow in the likeness of God as those already born.
The Orthodox Church believes that the person is body and soul and experimentation on the body, including embryonic stem cell research, will presume fleshly authority over the soul. The body and soul were formed at the same time-not one before and the other afterward. (Louth, p.53.) Stem cell research cannot be summarized as a scientific technique on a biological organism. The Orthodox Church considers that human beings should be treated with dignity and respect. Father Demopulos stated: “We must treat the developing embryo with dignity and respect, because we do not know when it becomes a person.” Since the Orthodox Church believes that human life begins at conception, the dignity and respect owed to the person should be extended to the human embryo.
The Orthodox Church promotes therapeutic advances in medicine, but not at the expense of human life. For the Orthodox life begins at conception and continues behind death. Without giving consideration to the various possible outcomes that this embryonic stem cells research will have on certain members of society, such as the Orthodox Church, science and society will continue to take diverging paths. There will be no answers found which will solve the problems that are arising because of embryonic stem cells research. Serious discussion concerning the ethical and moral dilemmas surrounding embryonic stem cells research can only take place when consideration for the premise that humanity is created in the image and likeness of God is the paramount concern.