Met. Tikhon of Washington and All America (OCA) at Phanar
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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 ...
This is excellent news.
ReplyDeleteExcellent in what way? Obviously, it is always good for brothers to dwell together in unity but do you mean something more?
ReplyDeleteIt is excellent in that a primate of the Orthodox Church in America con-celebrated with the Ecumenical Patriarch. Given the controversy over the status of the OCA within the Orthodox communion, and its lack of participation in the upcoming Great Council, I see this a great step in the right direction. Not that the OCA and the EP were not in communion before this but I can't recall when a Primate of the OCA concelebrated the liturgy with the EP.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very positive step in a healthy direction. Yet there are undoubtedly some commentators of a more cynical disposition toward the EP who may see this as presaging an attempted power grab in North America. I rather prefer to be optimistic. In any case, I'd prefer that to being reabsorbed by Moscow - not that that option is even on the table, though there were rumors about Metropolitan Jonah to that effect. Really it'd just be nice to be decolonized by foreign bishoprics altogether. Alas. To be fair, let's just say it's hard not to be cynical about the behavior of our hierarchs. May God preserve them in every way.
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