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 ...
Where is this particular Greek colony located?
ReplyDeletePhoenix AZ. Amusingly Elder Ephraim consented to move to America only after being asked for 10 years and when he saw how wayward the Greeks had become in America, but while he admittedly came for the Greeks, its American converts who have filled his monasteries.
DeleteThanks for your reply Sojourner, but my question was tongue in cheek.
DeleteWithout denying Elder Eprhaim's personal holiness, the good of establishing monestaries, and fill_in_the_blank, the fact that this service was so mono-culture Greek "in" Arizona (but only in an alien way), well it begs questions...
Yes it is a constant frustration to be American and feel like an outsider in your own country when it comes to church.
DeleteTo be fair tho, for this particular situation, even if everything was normally in English, I would understand the use of Greek here since Elder Ephraim only spoke Greek, its what he grew up with and understood, so it was appropriate.
I was sad to not be able to understand any of the sermons given, tho I hope translations will be made at some point.
Im hopeful that within a generation, after the founding members from Greece have reposed or handed over leadership that the monasteries will transition to English, but we'll see.
There are many Greeks in the Elder's monasteries as well as American converts. I don't know the exact breakdown of Greek vs convert, but there are a lot of Greeks in his monasteries.
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