Below is a response from a Canadian Orthodox Christian to a recent encyclical from Archbishop Sotirios asserting that supporters of a single communion spoon are “pagan.” The full text of the Archbishop’s encyclical in Greek and English is published below this response. Click here to skip ahead and read it.
First and foremost, please do not combine the people that do not accept the existence of a Corona Virus or do not want to be vaccinated, together with the people that refuse to receive Holy Communion from multiple spoons. We are not the same. Most of the people that refuse to take Holy Communion with multiple spoons understand the Covid-19 problem and are fully vaccinated.
This brings us to the main issue. You are calling us idolaters because, to use your words, we have made the Lavida God and we worship the Lavida. You are wrong. We do not worship the Lavida. Worship belongs to God and God alone. Having said that, Christ’s body and blood cleanses the Lavida every time it is dipped into the Chalice. If you believe that anyone can get the virus from the Lavida, come out and say so. It looks like you are avoiding this issue because you know it is not true. Just like you cannot get the virus from Holy Communion because it is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, you cannot get the virus from the Lavida because it is cleansed every time it touches the Body and Blood in the Chalice. This is not just an opinion; it is clearly stated in the New Testament:
Matthew 8:2, Mark 1:40, Luke 5:12:
A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Jesus did not become a leper – the leper was cleansed.
Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25, Luke 8:43-44:
Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped . According to the law (Leviticus 15:27) the woman was considered unclean and any one that she touched her was also unclean.Yet, instead of Jesus becoming unclean, it was the woman that was cleansed.
St Dosetheos of Jerusalem in his Apology against the Protestants explains what we get with Holy Communion. In Holy Communion we have the same body of Christ, the one that was conceived by the Virgin Mary, the one that was born in Bethlehem, the one that was baptized in the Jordan river, suffered, was buried, resurrected, ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
The conclusion is this: Anything that touches Jesus or, anything that Jesus touches, is cleansed. Therefore, when the Lavida touches Jesus’ Body and Blood, it is cleansed even if it has a virus. You cannot get a virus by using the Lavida – unless you believe that Holy Communion is not the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. But again, when the clergy prays during the Divine Liturgy, he is asking God to “make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ” and “that which is in this cup the precious Blood of Your Christ”. Later he continues: “I believe and confess, Lord, that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. I also believe that this is truly Your pure Body and that this is Your precious Blood….” If you truly believe that, then you should not doubt that Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
If Paul’s handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them (Acts 19:12) and if the shadow of Peter was enough to heal the people (Acts 5:15) how can the Lavida which touches Christ’s Body spread a virus?
Now that we know that you will never get a virus from the Lavida the question is why change things? Why the introduction of multiple spoons?
Here are some possible explanations. You circulated the first two:
First, the government dictated it. They will issue fines or even close churches. This is wrong. The government has no authority to tell us how to take Holy Communion. It is called freedom of religion. They told us this over and over again. They insist we wear masks and keep proper distances in the church and we do that. If it was dictated by the government, then all Orthodox would have the same issue. How is it that the Old Calendar Orthodox, the Serbian, the Russian churches and so on, have no problem using the same Lavida ever since we had the virus and nobody is doing anything about it?
Second, nobody reported those other churches. This is wrong again. Not too long ago, the Toronto Public Health department visited one of the Old Calendar Orthodox churches here in Toronto and they only wanted to make sure they were wearing masks and keeping proper distances. Someone from the church asked them, “What about taking Holy Communion with the same spoon?” They answered, ”This is beyond our jurisdiction. We cannot tell you how to take Holy Communion.” In plain English, this means, “How you take Holy Communion is none of our business.”
Here is a third explanation: You, alone, wanted to change how Holy Communion is distributed and you used the virus as an excuse. Isn’t it true that this discussion was made in the Archdiocese cafeteria long before the virus came? Isn’t it true that in one of your speeches you proposed that the ladies who prepare the prosphoron should use some wine in the dough, thereby even changing the process of the Divine Liturgy? Isn’t it true that you have done all this and more because you are an Ecumenist and a decorated Freemason?
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In your encyclical, you say: “By your selfishness you deprive yourselves of the Body and Blood of Christ.” You are wrong again. We do not deprive ourselves of the Body and Blood of Christ. We refuse to accept that you can get the virus from the Lavida. We take it from the other Orthodox churches that have kept the same method for thousands of years and there is nothing you can do about it. By the way, if some left the New Calendar Orthodox churches and went to the Old Calendar churches, consider yourself responsible for this. It was your unorthodox actions that drove them to this change.
Corona virus is not only a Canadian problem – it is all over the world. Can you explain why not thousands but millions of Orthodox continue to use one Lavida throughout the whole pandemic, and thank God they are doing just fine? Or is it true that we, in Canada, became the guinea pigs to see if the use of multiple spoons will be accepted by some and then you try to impose it on every Orthodox?
If you still believe that you can get a virus from the Lavida, ask yourself who the idolater is?
You are asking us to confess our sins and find the right spiritual father. We already do that. Thank God not all spiritual fathers are allowing themselves to follow your ideas. Confession is still private and you cannot pretend to know what goes on behind closed doors.
Also, let us not forget that most heresies started from the clergy and even patriarchs. You claim that archbishops, priests, elders, monks, nuns do not follow the right Orthodox spirit but that you do follow it. Isn’t that your own egotism?
Finally, you are asking us to repent and obey you. We repent every day, every hour, we never consider ourselves above anything or anyone. As for obeying, sorry but “We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). If you fear the Triune God, and not the Luciferian god, you, your Eminence, would do the same.
Respectfully,
Christopher Papadopoulos – Member of the Orthodox Church of Canada
Θεοποιείς την λαβίδα; Είσαι ειδωλολάτρης.
Do You Worship the Communion Spoon? Then You Are a Pagan.
Τι κρίμα; Δεν το καταλαβαίνεις και νομίζεις, ότι είσαι ο πιο ορθόδοξος. Φωνάζεις προς όλες τις κατευθύνσεις, ότι κατέχεις την αλήθεια. Χωρίς να το καταλαβαίνεις θεοποιείς τη λαβίδα. Η Θεία Κοινωνία είναι Σώμα και Αίμα Χριστού. Είναι φάρμακο αθανασίας. Η λαβίδα είναι ένα όργανο. Όργανο μετάδοσης της Θείας Κοινωνίας και τίποτε άλλο. Θεοποιείς τη λαβίδα; Είσαι ειδωλολάτρης.
Όλοι οι νεοφανείς αλάθητοι είναι ειδωλολάτρεις και δεν το καταλαβαίνουν. Φωνασκούν. Εμείς έχουμε την αλήθεια. Εμείς γνωρίζουμε καλύτερα. Εμείς είμαστε οι πραγματικοί ορθόδοξοι. Κανείς άλλος δεν ξέρει τίποτε. Ούτε οι κυβερνήτες. Ούτε οι γιατροί. Ούτε οι πατριάρχες. Οι αρχιερείς . Οι ιερείς. Όλα είναι σκευωρία. Όλα είναι του σατανά. Εμείς έχουμε την αλήθεια. Δεν χρειάζονται τα εμβόλια. Όλα είναι ψέματα.
Όλα είναι προπαγάνδα. Μην ακούτε τους επιστήμονες. Ακούστε μόνο εμάς. Εμείς είμαστε αλάθητοι. Ξεπεράσαμε τον Πάπα κι ας υποστηρίζουμε, ότι είμαστε ακραιφνείς ορθόδοξοι.
Τι κρίμα; Που είναι η ταπείνωση; Δεν βλέπετε, ότι έχετε εωσφορικό εγωισμό; Αυτά διδάσκει η ορθόδοξη πίστη; Αυτά εμπνέει το Άγιο Πνεύμα; Όχι. Όλα είναι της δικής σας φαντασίας. Όλα είναι γεννήματα του εωσφορικού σας εγωισμού. Δεν βλέπετε πως πολλοί που υπεστήριζαν αυτά προσεβλήθησαν από τον κορωνοϊό και πόσοι πέθαναν; Τίποτε δεν μπορεί να σας συγκρατήσει; Κρίμα.
Αρχιερείς, ιερείς, γεροντάδες, μοναχοί, μοναχές, άνθρωποι απλοί που νομίζετε, ότι είστε ακραιφνείς ορθόδοξοι, καιρός να το ξανασκεφτείτε. Όλοι πρέπει να ενεργείτε υπεύθυνα. Αυτό σημαίνει, ότι αναγνωρίζετε, ότι ο κορωνοϊός είναι πραγματικότητα. Αναγνωρίζοντας αυτό πρέπει να δίνετε το καλό παράδειγμα. Πρώτοι εσείς να εμβολιαστείτε. Να γίνετε το παράδειγμα και να οδηγείτε όλους στον εμβολιασμό. Να σωθούμε από την επάρατο αυτή ασθένεια του κορωνοϊού.
Με τον εγωισμό σας στερείτε τον εαυτό σας από το Σώμα και το Αίμα του Χριστού. Σκανδαλίζετε τους πιστούς τρέχοντας σε παλαιοημερολογίτες και σε άλλους που δεν ακολουθούν το σωστό ορθόδοξο πνεύμα για να εξυπηρετηθείτε. Αυτό εκτός από ασέβεια είναι και μη εμπιστοσύνη στον Σταυρωμένο και Αναστημένο Χριστό.
Συνέλθετε. Μετανοείτε. Αναλογιστείτε το κακό που κάνετε. Οδηγείτε τους εαυτούς σας στην κόλαση και παίρνετε κι άλλους στο λαιμό σας.
Ταπείνωση και σύνεση. Η ταπείνωση είναι η βάση όλων των αρετών. Η σύνεση είναι η συνισταμένη όλων των αρετών. Προσευχηθείτε. Ζητήστε τον φωτισμό του Αγίου Πνεύματος. Βρείτε σωστούς πνευματικούς. Εξομολογηθείτε. Κλάψτε για τις αμαρτίες σας. Ζητήστε από τον εύσπλαχνο Θεό την συγχώρεσή σας. Θα σας συγχωρέσει. Είναι πολυεύσπλαχνος. Αυτή είναι η πραγματικότητα. Όλα τα άλλα είναι δημιουργήματα του εωσφορικού εγωισμού σας.
What a shame that you refuse to understand this. You continue to think that you are more orthodox than others. You shout in all directions that you possess the truth. Without realizing it, you deify the spoon. Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of Christ. It is medicine for immortality. The communion spoon is merely an instrument. It is a vehicle through which Holy Communion is given and nothing else. Do you worship the communion spoon? Then you are a pagan.
All of the newly proclaimed infallible are pagans without even realizing it. They howl that they have the truth. That they know better. That they are the genuine orthodox believers. That no one really understands what is happening in the world. Not the governments. Not the doctors. Not the patriarchs. Not the hierarchs. Not the priests.
For these people, conspiracy is everywhere. Everything comes from Satan. Only they have the truth. Vaccines are not necessary. Everything is a lie. It is all propaganda. They do not want us to listen to the scientists but to listen to what they have to say. They are the infallible. They have even surpassed the Pope, yet they claim to be genuinely Orthodox.
What a shame! Where is the humility? Can you not see your luciferian egotism? Is this what the Orthodox faith teaches? Is this what the Holy Spirit inspires? No. All of this is in your imagination. All of this is a product of your luciferian egotism. Do you not see that many who supported these ideas were infected with the coronavirus and some have died? Can nothing restrain you? What a pity.
Hierarchs, priests, elders, monks, nuns, ordinary people, all of you who think that you are more genuinely orthodox than the others, it is time to think again. You need to act responsibly. You need to recognize that the coronavirus is a reality. In recognizing this, you must set a good example for others. Be the first to get vaccinated. Become an example and lead everyone to get their vaccines. So we could finally save ourselves from this accursed coronavirus disease.
By your selfishness, you deprive yourselves of the Body and Blood of Christ. You scandalize the faithful by running to old calendarists and others who do not follow the true orthodox faith. This is not only disrespectful but also distrustful to the Crucified and Risen Christ.
Get a grip on yourselves. Repent. Think about the evil you are doing. You are leading yourselves to Hades and dragging others with you.
Think about humility and prudence. Humility is the basis of all virtues, and prudence represents the broader coherence, the resulting outcome of the virtues. You need to pray. To ask for the Holy Spirit to enlighten you. Find suitable spiritual fathers and confess. Cry for your sins. Ask the merciful God to forgive you. He will forgive you. He is merciful. This is the reality. Everything else is a product of your luciferian egotism.
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For more information on multiple spoons in Canada, please visit this category page.
At least not all bishops are like Sotirios, Elpidophoros or Bartholomew. Metropolitan Ambrosios speaks out against their heresy:
Bishops: Do not persecute the priests for preserving Orthodox traditions!
BY METROPOLITAN AMBROSIOS OF KALAVRYTA | JULY 20, 2021
His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios is the former Metropolitan of the Metropolis of Kalavryta and Aigialeia in northern Greece. What follows is a translation of his open letter, posted (in Greek) on Aktines on June 22, 2021.
Your Beatitude,
Holy Fathers,
Brethren in Christ,
The Body of Christ, the Church, is being attacked. It is being attacked by dark powers, foreign special interest groups that pull the strings of mankind.
And they have control over governments, but also in religions everywhere – even in the One True, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
This demonic control and the calamities it brings along are allowed by God, as a consequence of the fall and the estrangement of mankind.
God’s people are under persecution.
They have sinned and they pay the price.
A symbol of the fallen Greek Orthodox people is the .
As God’s people, fully aware of our sinfulness and shortcomings but with faith in the Holy Triune God and in His mercy, we are determined to place ourselves at the brake of the vehicle that defiles homeland and Church.
We bear the burden and responsibility, which came out from the Canons of the Ecumenical Councils, from the words and exhortations of the Holy Fathers of our Church, and from the struggles and the sacrifice of ethno-martyrs and holy martyrs.
The Church is not an autonomous organization. She has no opinion or position of her own.
Her ministers (deacons, presbyters, bishops, patriarchs, synods) are not authorized to say and do whatever they feel is appropriate, according to their personal opinion.
How much more under the urging and pressure of political authorities.
The Church did not build her faith. It is not her creation. She received it and serves it.
In recent years, especially after the sacrilegious Kolymbari synod, we have lived through the trampling of Holy Tradition, of the Gospel of the Orthodox faith.
We have become listeners to a new rhetoric, about social responsibility, love of neighbor, indiscriminate obedience, and oikonomia. An “oikonomia” that has become lawless.
It has become a deluded bishop-worship and an absolute submission to the dictates of the authorities.
Wherever there is Orthodoxy there are wounds.
We have seen sacraments of heretics being recognized.
We have witnessed bishops donating the Qur’an as a sacred book.
Hierarchs have hidden their pectoral crosses so as not to make others uncomfortable.
We were stunned as we witnessed common prayers and concelebrations of bishops of the Greek Church, with heretics, Muslims and schismatics.
We have seen metropolises locking churches and threatening priests.
We have seen masks in front of the Holy Altar, before the holy icons and the holy relics streaming with grace, gloved hands of clergymen handing out antidoron, many times in inappropriate containers and elders protecting their stole from being kissed.
We have seen a single-use disposable spoon for distributing of the immaculate Body and Blood of our Christ.
We saw the Lord “resurrected” on the second day.1
We have seen bishops prohibit the sacrament of Confession.
A new religion has been established and the Mysteries of Christ have been defiled, the consequence of long-standing violations of the Holy Rudder, the Canons of the Fathers, and the Gospel itself.
Holy bishops: You have become more royal than the king. [“Holier than the Pope” -tr.]
You have done more to tear down our faith and deny us Christ, with greater zeal and wrath than the anti-Christian government rules.
You lead the Church into schism.
And when a few pious clergymen resist this demonic atheistic current, reverently offering the Gifts of the Holy Mysteries as before, as immaculate as they received them from Holy Orthodoxy Tradition, with faith and trusting in the Lord, they are given a beating with the bishop’s staff – beaten with suspension, beaten with transfer, beaten by removing their offikia [clergy ranks], beaten with citations from prosecutors.
You punish pious priests. You punish the people of God by depriving them of the salvific Gifts of the Mysteries, or you make them available under certain conditions – conditions that defile and are irreverent toward the Holy Trinity. With masks, with distances and with a limited number of people, you sin against the Holy Spirit.
And the pulpits fell silent. They stopped echoing the word of Truth. They are no longer bases of Orthodox struggle. Instead, they echo government decisions and medical ultimatums. Vaccine advertising campaigns and unholy measures are broadcast by preachers and bishops.
Shame!
And you demand obedience to the Church?
What is the Church? The hierarchy and the clergy? Not the people?
What does Tradition teach us?
Who was the Church?
Saint Gregory Palamas or John Kalekas the Latin-minded?
Saint Mark of Ephesus or Mitrophanes and the rest of the hierarchy?
Saint Maximos the Confessor or all the [Eastern] Patriarchates of his day?
Saint Cyril or Nestorius?
Are not the Saints models of conduct to imitate?
Isn’t the Church also triumphant – that included the Saints and Fathers who dogmatized?
What happens if the “Church” you talk about fights against Christ? What happens when it cooperates, applauds and promotes anti-Orthodox laws and practices?
We do not judge, because, as Saint John Chrysostom explains: “‘DO NOT JUDGE, SO YOU WON’T BE JUDGED’ (Mat. 7:1) PERTAINS TO LIVES, NOT TO MATTERS OF FAITH” (PG. 63, 231-232).
We have been witnessing a flagrant violation of the Gospel for some time now in actions, words, and decisions of hierarchs.
And then you ask for indiscriminate obedience?
Didn’t the Apostle Paul say, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be excommunicated”? (Gal. 1:8).
Didn’t Athanasios the Great say that, “If the bishop or the priest, the eyes of the Church, behave improperly and scandalize the people, they must be deposed. It is preferable for the congregation to assemble without them in a house of prayer than be cast out with them as with Annas and Caiaphas in the Gehenna of fire.”
“The eyes of the Church” turned into anti-orthodox preachers and persecutors of clergy who have “committed crimes”.
And their crime? — The preservation of the Tradition of the Holy Fathers of our Church.
How can these clergymen deserve condemnation and not praise, who keep the Tradition of the Holy Fathers at the risk of episcopal and governmental punishments? Don’t you know that by condemning them you condemn the Fathers of our Church? The saints and the martyrs?
Enough is enough!
We will no longer tolerate the continued desecration of our faith.
We will not tolerate punishments for clergymen who have not broken any promise to the Lord, and who struggle though persecuted and reviled for faith and homeland.
We will not permit the discipline of clergy or bishops who have done the minimum of remaining Orthodox and serving the flock without fail and crossing every “t”.
We will take action by every means and in many ways.
The anger that has accumulated here for a long time against those who are corrupting humanity, who are violating our freedom, our rights, our very lives, will be vented on you. Because you betray us.
If you come to your senses and become leaders of the righteous struggle that God blesses, know that you will have an “army” dedicated and determined.
We are determined to fight to the death – but death on the cross.
And if the difficulties pass, you will be blessed and praised for everything.
Show condescension to those who may be difficult to reason with.
But like the child who tries to serve and help his sick father, so we too make a final effort to get you back on the path of Tradition.
Let us embrace brotherly and show respect to our common Fathers.
Let us keep the Traditions and with one mouth let us glorify the most honorable and majestic name of the Lord.
And finally, to our Triune God be honor and glory unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
Metropolitan (former) of Kalavryta and Aigialeia
Ambrosios
As many know, in 2020, the political authorities of Greece did not permit the midnight Paschal Liturgy, so the Synod directed the clergy to celebrate it before evening, thus on “the second day”, Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
Translated Fr. E.H. and A.H.
More about Metropolitan Ambrosios
Fiery Greek Metropolitan Ambrose of Kalavryta announces retirement, / orthochristian.com
Our comment:We believe that he did not retire because of “his advancing age and failing strength” but in order to chastise more freely unorthodox behaviors no matter who is the target. He is the most vocal bishop of the Church of Greece, after the one and only Bishop Augoustinos Kantiotis
Bishop Ambrosios excommunicates Prime Minister Mitsotakis and the Minister of Religion, https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/05/17/bishop-amvrosios-excommunicates-prime-minister-religion-minister
Our comment:The Synod rushed to overrule the excommunications…
This past January he was fined because he tossed the cross in the sea on the feast of holy Epiphany against the specific orders of the Government. Read the article (video included).
He has his own blog: http://mkka.blogspot.com/2015/12/blog-post_9.html
Thanks Ron for posting this. Finally, a hierarch who found some Orthodox backbone. Is there any way Ambrosious can be brought to America to set up another jurisdiction for the NEW diaspora who have been alienated from their beloved churches?
For me, all this is simple. If St. John of Shanghai or St. Mark of Ephesus or St. John of Kronstadt were here right now, do we really think they would tell us to mask during Liturgy, watch Liturgy at home because a little virus is going around, or use multiple spoons for Communion? Do we really think they would tell us that upending our praxis that’s stood for centuries is loving our neighbor? I’m sorry guys, I don’t think anyone will be able to convince me of that.
Just a few words regarding faith. When it comes to receiving Holy Communion, yes, faith is very important. If you don’t believe that what you are taking is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, you should not even approach the Chalice.
Someone mentioned that Judas and the soldiers had touched the body of Christ but they were not cleansed. I couldn’t agree more. Even with the case of the woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years and she was cleansed, it was her faith that made her well (Matthew 9:22). Touching Jesus did not effect the multitudes that were pressing Him. The woman was healed because she believed that even if she touched His garments she will be made well (Matthew 9:21).
And now to my point: If I believe that I will never get a virus by the Holy Lavida because it was cleansed when it touched Jesus Body, why I am forced to accept multiple spoons because someone else believes different? Yes, the disciples did not use any Lavida at the last supper. I am not going to go into the history of the changes but all Orthodox are using one Lavida for more than a thousand years. Were they wrong? Are the millions of Orthodox that still use one Lavida wrong? Are the archbishops of USA and Canada the only ones right and all the thousands of Orthodox archbishops, priests, deacons that still use one Lavida around the world also wrong? Apparently, that is what the archbishop of Canada believes. That is exactly what he stated: “Hierarchs, priests, elders, monks, nuns, ordinary people, all of you who think that you are more genuinely orthodox than the others, it is time to think again.”
I believe I made it clear. If the archbishop believes that we are getting a virus from the Holy Lavida, why not come out and say so. It looks like he is avoiding the subject.
Hi Peter,
You are right. It’s time to take action and protect the Orthodox Faith if our spiritual leaders refuse to do so. Elder Efraim of blessed memory, foretold that all this would happen, back in 1992. Here is how he told us to prepare and take action. Watch this short video: https://youtu.be/mog32JWfQR4
We’re not far off from being worse here in America either with Archbishop Elpidophoros. There have been many open & private letters sent to our hierarchs, and yet they persist.
At what point do we stop writing letters, which they obviously ignore, and start taking action?
Of course I am not calling for violence or anything like that, but, protesting in person, shouting “anaxios” from our parishes, letting our priests know how serious this is, and boycotting these wolves in sheeps clothing whenever possible.
There are many blogs that cover the things that have been happening, this one, Monomakhos, Helleniscope, Concerned Orthodox Christians…it’s time to take action and protect the Faith is our leaders refuse to do so.
Fr. John Peck has been doing a series he titled ECCLESIOCLASM: The Church, The Virus, The ‘Vaccine’.
You can access it via his profile on Facebook.
He coined that word for this purpose, and I think it sums it up perfectly. Breaking the Church.
I think what matters in this issue is what strengthens and what weakens people’s faith, bearing in mind Rm 15:1 – “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.”
So, I agree that if someone gets contacted with the Body and Blood of Christ, they will get cleansed and healed – like the lepers who wanted to get healed. But Judas also kissed Christ and the soldiers who beat Him also got contacted with His Body, and did they get cleansed and healed? So faith is very important! An object like the lavida/spoon has obviously no faith, this is an unconscious instrument that carries Christ’s Body and Blood (like the chalise). But the Apostles did not use any spoons at the last supper to receive Holy Communion, so lavida is not an absolutely essential instrument. What matters again is people’s faith.
If you feel that in your parish the changing of the spoon is the consequence of the loss of faith, you should examine it (because the reason is not necessarily that) and discuss it with your priest/bishop. But you mustn’t judge them immediately, because you’re not in charge, you primarily have to be obedient. But if you have the right, humble spirit and still feel that you have to defend faith, act according to your conscience!
On the other hand, the massive hysteria entailing this virus has created a significant fear and worry in a lot of people. I also got infected by COVID, but it was not more than a normal illness, the psychological hysteria around it was much more serious than the bodily symptoms themselves. But this psyhological attack could shake a lot of people who were simply on the way of having stronger faith. If they stay away from the Eucharist because they think that using a single spoon can be dangerous, it will obvoiusly not strengthen their faith. You might say that if they had strong faith, they wouldn’t believe that the spoon can convey illness, but it still remains a reality that they have no such strong faith (yet), and you should strengthen their faith and not weaken it! If they still take Holy Communion in a parish where spoons are changed, it is much better for their faith! Because they receive the Eucharist! The spoon is not so important than the Eucharist Itself.
People who know me can confirm that I myself have been a strong supporter of taking Holy Communion during the virus, because I also believe that the Eucharist cannot carry any disease, as it is the Body and Blood of Christ and we must never lose this central truth of our Faith. But when the changing of the spoons was introduced in our parish, I simply said who cares. So what? I receive the same Eucharist and that is what matters. The puspose of my fight was to make more and more people receive the Eucharist during the pandemic and not to generate debates about less important matters which might result in fewer people receiving the Eucharist.
While your points on faith are well taken–it is (as you say) faith in these things that connect us to Christ through these things. What parishioners are alarmed about is something aside from that. It is that Orthodox hierarchs are bending Church praxis to the will of government (vacating the authority of the fathers). For the Faithful,the argument has been, the Orthodox have always gone contrary to government edicts that restrict worship in even a minute way, whether it be by the Jews, the Romans, or the Communists. Bottom line: Not only has Orthodox hierarchs made concessions to government by enforcing these edicts (not laws), they in essence have turned the Orthodox Church into an arm of enforcement of government. The bishops could have said–should have said– to government–“fine, you want people to wear masks (or whatever), but its not our place to enforce this; we are NOT the COVID police. It is not our place to act on the behalf of government”If the cops showed up to enforce it themselves, they should be required to produce a search warrant. Without that, they would be told to leave. To be clear, we all understand that it is faith in the mysteries that make it real in our own lives, but the problem is that hierarchs have chosen to become the enforcement arm of government, which is not in the nature of the Church but a twisting of the purpose, essence, and mission of the Church to make it an instrument of government. That is our disgust with hierarchs, they have sold out the faith to government for an ounce of security; not a single Church father would have ever approved of this action. Yet we see it, and we should be alarmed because it shows these (Judas) hiearchs have sold out the Church. They are not true hierarchs but betrayers of Christ and His Church. These hierarchs are not with, for, or by the Church but set themselves against it as enemies of the Church. If that were not enough, hierarchs have ventured into the practice of medicine by endorsing vaccines which more and more are proving to be extremely dangerous. What more do I need to say, these hierarchs have become full enemies of the Church. How can we also abandon the fathers by following their edicts??? More and more the “plandemic” is being proven to be full of lies. And too many hierarchs do not have the spiritual aptitude to see through these lies, they themselves are full of delusions (proving they are full of themselves and not the Holy Spirit; enough said).
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.
You have nailed it.
I just wanted to add, to your excellent analysis of the problem, that the underlying reason why most hierarchs are selling out Orthodoxy at this time and in this manner, is because they, themselves, hijacked the highest ecclesial positions many years ago for this purpose. They are not Orthodox and not even Christians.
Secretly, they are Satanists (high ranking Freemasons and even Illuminati) who are part of this plandemic. Many other Freemasons and Illuminati, have, over the years, similarly hijacked key positions in governments, media, entertainment, health care, regulatory bodies, other religious organizations and other key organizations to lead the planet towards globalism – one currency, and one global religion, both of which are controlled by one global government.
Globalism will be the means by which these Luciferian individuals, who have become very strong in numbers, wealth and power, will introduce the Antichrist. A global pandemic, which requires collaboration of all countries to control the masses, facilitates and accelerates the move towards globalism.
The history of our planet is basically the history of man’s rebellion against God. It began in Eden, and from there, the forces of good vs evil fought it out throughout the Old Testament, during the life of Christ which culminated in His Crucifixion and Resurrection, and then continued on during the Christian massacres (external battles) followed by an onslaught of heresies that created one ecclesioclasm after another (internal battles).
Our whole history has been one prolonged battle with Satan who has not only demons, but also fallen humans, particularly wolves in sheep’s clothing, on his side – and the prize? – our souls.
It should not surprise us, therefore, that Archbishops Athenagoras, Sotirios, etc. the Pope, and many other religious hierarchs are Freemasons, who have and continue to engage more and more in political than ecclesial issues, often sacrificing Truth for political agendas.
This is why the Orthodox Church has been deemed by Church Fathers to consist of those true believers in and followers of Christ, regardless of whether they are clergy or laity.
All of us are dismayed by what is happening to our Church right now, but in actuality, the disease began about a hundred years ago. Or even further back. We are just now starting to see the symptoms of the disease, which have surfaced to the extent that even the simplest of the laity are noticing something is very wrong.
This subversive, systematic scheme bears every mark of the devil who is gearing up to destroy mankind by destroying the body of Christ – that’s us. Like it or not, we are approaching the end times. We must pray and catechize ourselves on the teachings of our Holy Church fathers, (because rarely now, will our current clergy give us any right teaching) and hold fast to our faith with support of those Orthodox citadels (those monasteries) which have not yielded to satanic Ecumenism.
My first reply was to John Lee’s comment.
This reply is to Victoria’s comment regarding the spirituality (or lack of it) of Archbishop Sotirios. We have had him for 48 years, and all this time he has not repented. He continues to abuse his flock, more and more. His sermons are more about politics and world events than they are about the faith, and he has often bragged about his good health and how he expects to live as long as his mother did, which was 111 years. He has also used his “sermons” to assert his authority by publicly embarrassing and disparaging the clergy and others. He bullies people into obeying him through fear. Because of him, many good people have left the church.
He comes from a very large family, being one of ten children. He has often spoken of his mother but never of his father. Because of his high handed abusiveness of others, I often wonder what his childhood must have been like.
He is a very stubborn, proud and arrogant man, who holds grudges and is vindictive. He seems to harbour a lot of anger and insecurity. I believe he is very troubled and should see a therapist but he is too proud.
I pray for him every day and that the power of God will help him and transform him from a Saul into a Paul – but Sotirios has to want it. May God have mercy on him and all those he has harmed.
May our long-suffering God liberate the Archbishop from the arrogance, pride, and stubbornness that have overtaken him and are holding him hostage. He has the audacity to mock God, attack the laity and project his heresy onto those who have the courage to hold him accountable for his blasphemous actions.
His devious decision regarding Holy Communion lacks inspiration from the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit would never inspire by conspiring against Itself. The imposition of multiple spoons – in the midst of a pandemic no less – conspires against God, sending a dangerous message that His precious blood and sacred body are contaminable on and by a communal spoon. Never mind the fact that the spoon in question, the Holy Lavida, actually represents a millennia-old Holy Tradition – he wants us to believe that the dispensation of Holy Communion by any other method is safer, as long as it’s not by way of the Holy Lavida. If there ever was a case for ‘paralogismos’ it’s staring at us straight in the face.
I’m confused by the first paragraph:
“First and foremost, please do not combine the people that do not accept the existence of a Corona Virus or do not want to be vaccinated, together with the people that refuse to receive Holy Communion from multiple spoons. We are not the same. Most of the people that refuse to take Holy Communion with multiple spoons understand the Covid-19 problem and are fully vaccinated.”
I do not want to receive these shots. First, they aren’t vaccines, and secondly, Good Lord there are scores of very good reasons to refuse to submit to having a spike protein injected into our our blood.
And although I was prevented from attending Liturgy for a year and a half because my autistic daughter could not mask, if I had been able to attend and receive the Eucharist, I don’t think I would have accepted the idea of receiving with multiple spoons. If indeed the Lavida is washed each time it is returned to the Body and Blood of Christ in the Chalice, then why on earth would any of us accept receiving that Body and Blood from multiple spoons?
What am I missing?
Our guess would be the beginning is a response to the steady stream of abuse the Archbishop has been heaping on “Orthodox fundamentalists.” The author seems to be distancing himself from what he perceives as negative characterizations presented previously by Archbishop Sotirios and, thereby, look reasonable by comparison. In things we’ve read and published excerpts from, the Archbishop has said the people who oppose him are anti-science fanatics who don’t believe the Corona virus exists. The point of the article was to focus on the spoons, so the opening was probably meant to take away those lines of attack that might distract from the spoon controversy.
I am a very new catechumen so I don’t think I can speak directly to most of this but I can offer an observation based on on 30 years of martial training.
The system I trained in was quite old and originated in India. There is only one way to do it. I have seen people do it improperly and, at worst, it ends badly; at best, it’s ineffectual. This happened when students either let their egos run things or misused the training. E.g. “there’s a better way to do this”; “that can’t be right”, “I’ll show him”, etc. The training doesn’t change for the student, the student changes to fit the training.
In my view, you are either practicing the faith as it was handed down, or you are not. As I understand it, this is supposed to be the Apostolic faith, passed from Jesus to the Disciples and on to us today. That, to me, means it is not to be altered.
Good post Andrew. But as one who converted long ago I will tell you that as converts, we are sometimes derided as trying to be “more Orthodox” than the cradle Orthodox. That just happened to me recently regarding the same topic as this article. My priest, a friend of mine, or so I thought, was angered because I respectfully shared with him my opposition to his refusal to use the Lavida. How dare I, a former Protestant challenge a cradle Orthodox! I ended up leaving the parish.
The first of our non-ethnic cradles just left the nest. Four more right behind him. There was a lot of Gen X conversion to Orthodoxy that has resulted in Gen Z cradles with just “American” backgrounds. The face of Orthodoxy is going to change greatly.
I am a cradle Orthodox who left my ethnic parish for an Orthodox parish of a different ethnicity because of the spoons, because of the signs beneath each icon forbidding their veneration, because of the imposition of masks, because of the priest’s lies that government authorities will fine or close our churches if we use one Holy Communion spoon, and because of the fear in the eyes and voices of those parishioners who still attend there.
Those people, for whom I mourn, my previous co-parishioners, are more preoccupied about properly masking and distancing during Divine Liturgy than they are about right worship. All of the above restrictions and observations jarred me when I went back to my old parish, after a year of absence due to my “refugee status” to attend the funeral of a close friend.
What came crashing down on me more than anything was the realization that those who who chose to stay with the spoons and all the rest, were more devoted to the preservation of the 112 year old Greek Orthodox Church building with its hand painted gold leaf iconography by mount Athos monks, than they were to the God this church was supposed to honour. Not to be judgmental, but this is idolatry and I couldn’t handle it.
My point is that it makes no difference if you’re a cradle Orthodox or not. None of the Apostles were cradle Orthodox. It also makes no difference your race, colour or language. Our God wants Orthodox hearts and spirits. Language, colour, ethnicity, or birthplace does not concern him. It only concerns those who can’t let go of the trappings of being Orthodox. – in my humble opinion