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 ...
What the Archbishop fails to note is that according to the principles that Constantinople is so eager to share Australia is the territory of the Russian Patriarchate. The first Orthodox liturgies were celebrated here were by Russian clergy on russian ships in the first 2 decades of the 1800's. Then it was the :Lebanese and Syrians later that century who organised for a place of worship. It was only in the time of the heresarch Metaxis in 1920's did the greeks bother with Australia. We non greek orthodox do get somewhat miffed at the claims that the greeks should have pre eeminence. They are "johnny come lately's".
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