A Response to “On administering Holy Communion in a Time of a Plague”
This was sent to me and deserves a read. You can read the Calivas article here . We can all agree that we are living in unusual times. However, the nature and extent of the illness that we face, and the proper response of the Church, is a matter of much disagreement. We have seen various responses to the COVID-19 epidemic: calls to close our Churches as infectious vectors, and demands to open them as places of spiritual healing. Directives a) ordering the cessation of sacramental life as part of an effort to “flatten the curve,” and cries for access to the divine grace that flows forth from those very mysteries; b) calling for the restriction of “at-risk persons,” and serious questions about the validity of such controls, c) instructions to liturgists to wear personal protective equipment during the celebration of the divine services and the distribution of the holy Mysteries, and uncertainty about the fitness of such practices. Who has been championing what and on behalf of whom? The ...
I don't think I'm being over-sensitive when I say that they seemed to go out of their way to avoid mentioning the OCA or the fact that any Eastern Orthodox people may not be "ethnic", i.e.-Serbian, Greek, Russian, Polish, etc. The Russian priest looked like he was about to mention that fact but I don't know if he didn't or if it was edited out. If the video's purpose was to educate officers about those ethnicities, then why say it's a video about Eastern Orthodoxy? If the video was about Eastern Orthodoxy, then why make it look like only "new immigrants or fourth generation Chicagoans (great-grandchildren of immigrants)" were Orthodox? It seems to be perpetuating a common myth in this country. That said, the instructions about church behavior and treating blessed items with respect was good. I don't see how knowing which way we make the sign of the cross is of practical use to them though.
ReplyDeleteAlways neat to see one's bishop in a video!
ReplyDelete