Orthodox Reflections

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Just when I thought my heart could not possibly break into more pieces, it did.

At first, His Eminence Sotirios gave us a glimmer of hope at the Archdiocese on Sunday, by inviting 8 people to meet with him to discuss our issues. However, he refused to see more than 8 people (himself and Father Alexandros made 10) even though the Provincial Member of Parliament, Christina Mitas, did advise him that the number of persons who could meet had been recently increased from 10 to 15 people. In addition, he refused any media presence or any recording of the meeting, although he recorded it for himself.

Afterwards, Christina Mitas spoke to us outside and confirmed that there was never any provincial order or law prohibiting the distribution of Holy Communion with a single spoon (lavida), and no fines were applicable to churches for communing in this manner, contrary to what his Eminence had previously indicated (see video here).

Outside, at least 200 people had arrived but not all at the same time. People came and left anywhere between 9:30 am to 2 pm partly because of the small area in front of the Archdiocese which is a drive-through, and the social distancing requirements which, at a glance, made it seem that fewer than 200 persons were in attendance at any one time.

What was particularly disappointing was his Eminence’s response to our Q&A Tour later that same evening when he spoke during the Vesper service at Prophet Elias Church in Mississauga. You may listen to his speech if you go to 1:42:05 on this link.

During this speech, his Eminence did affirm that our visit to the Archdiocese was very peaceful and respectful. Unfortunately, he completely misconstrued the reasons why we are insisting on one ONE SPOON – Mia Lavida. Because the previous Sunday, one parishioner shouted out at St. Demetrios Church: «θελουμε την αγια λαβιδα» – which means “we want the Holy Spoon” (as opposed to multiple spoons) His Eminence mis-translated the words «αγια λαβιδα» to “St. Lavida” instead of “Holy Lavida”. Although a Saint is a holy person, the two words carry a different connotation. The word “saint” applies to living beings (bodiless and in bodily form) whereas the word “holy” can apply to living beings as well as to objects. We frequently refer to our holy Archdiocese or the holy Bible or the holy Chalice. In a similar fashion, this parishioner, in his anguish, was referring to the holy spoon and not “Saint Spoon.”

I find it hard to imagine that his Eminence’s command of the English language is so poor that he erred when he translated the words «αγια λαβιδα» to “St. Lavida” instead of “Holy Lavida” or was it done deliberately to undermine the seriousness of the multiple communion spoon issue? By choosing to interpret «αγια λαβιδα» as “St. Lavida” he effectively categorized the supporters of the single spoon, as worshippers of the single spoon rather than worshippers of Christ, whose, he said, true Body and Blood were present in the holy Chalice. He effectively called us idolaters, meaning pagans, who had a very poor and superstitious understanding of the Body and Blood of Christ, since the spoon is a mere tool, and not the Body and Blood itself. He completely ignored the fact that this tool is coated with God during the communion service, which is what makes it holy (not a saint), just as God makes us holy when we worthily commune Him.

He also went on to say that the supporters of the single lavida are also those who misguidedly listen to and obey the monastic holy fathers instead of the hierarchs of the church, who are the true church leaders. I would like to point out here that throughout our 2000 year history, most if not all heresies arose from the clergy (such as Arius) and hierarchs of the church rather than the desert fathers who made priceless contributions to the life of the Church. If we are supposed to blindly obey our church leaders, we would all have become Arians a long time ago. Furthermore, while it is right to obey both our spiritual fathers and our church leaders, it is wrong to disobey God or the voice of our conscience which is the voice of the Holy Spirit that speaks to the soul of a pious and practising Orthodox Christian.

The third point his Eminence made with respect to the mode of distribution of Holy Communion was a brief explanation of how this mode changed over time. At first, the Body and Blood were administered separately, as Christ had done with His disciples. He did not mention that this posed problems in the early church because some misguided souls would not consume the Body right away but would take it home for other purposes such as sorcery which is an abomination in our Church. To discourage and prevent this blasphemy, the method of distribution then evolved to the use of a tong or «λαβιδα» which placed the Body, dipped in the Blood, directly into the recipient’s mouth. Unfortunately, too many accidents occurred with this method, such as dropping the Holy Host on the floor, and so a spoon, also named «λαβιδα» came into use until today. This was a very informative history lesson and I must commend his Eminence on his skills as a speaker, as it was the best explanation on this topic I have heard so far.

His Eminence very successfully drove home the importance of treating the Body and Blood of Christ with utmost respect. The historical evolution of the mode of distribution of Holy Communion came about exactly for that reason and not because of any fear of disease transmission, which his Eminence also affirmed. Contrast this to another video by Father Maggos in the USA who calls our Church a “museum” for adhering to 1000+ year old traditions, and says it’s about time we changed to a “safer” method than the single spoon. One should ask him how the Body and Blood of Christ can be any “safer.” If someone like him wants to be safe from the Holy Host, he should not commune at all because if he communes while worrying about his safety, he does so unworthily, and then he definitely will not be safe as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29 ^” For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”

Therefore, to his Eminence Sotirios, we say that we eat and drink the Lord unworthily when we do so from a separate spoon, due to fear of contamination, for He cannot contaminate us. When we eat and drink the Lord unworthily, we drink damnation to ourselves, not discerning the Lord’s Body. If this isn’t crystal clear enough, allow me to address the elephant in the room, to which his Eminence made no reference in his speech last Sunday evening:

(For the protection of the priests who were forced into this vile deed of the multiple communion spoons, I shall not disclose their names or the names of their churches.)

1. In one Toronto church after the multiple communion spoons were collected, the Sexton, who did not know what to do with them, was instructed by the flustered priest to boil them in water. When asked what to then do with the water, he was told to pour it into the drain of the Baptismal Font. The sexton then reminded the priest that, unlike the drains of most churches, this drain led to the sewage system, upon which, the priest then told him to dump the spoons into a bucket of sanitizing chemicals. The sexton asked if by doing so, would they not be poisoning the next recipients if these chemicals adhered to the spoons? What happened after that is unknown to me but the chemical bath won out.
2. In another Toronto church, the priest licked each individual spoon himself after communing with it and then…who knows what he did to them? Did he take them home and put them in the dishwasher? If safety is the issue, what is the point of licking each spoon? The poor man was probably trying to treat each spoon as a mini chalice. But what happened to the spoons after that is a mystery.
3. In yet another Toronto church, the priest, while communing with individual spoons, would often forget and use the same spoon for the next recipient, who made no objection. Again, if safety is the issue, where is the safety here?

As much as I abhor relaying this disgusting and shameful disgrace, I strongly feel it is important to address the mammoth in the room which his Eminence chose to ignore. If we, the supporters of the single lavida are idolaters, what terminology should one use for someone who on the one hand confesses the contents of the holy Chalice to be the Body and Blood of Christ, and on the other hand, causes this same Body and Blood which are now coating multiple spoons, to be thrown down a sewer or sanitized with chemical disinfectants? Again, I ask, what fitting adjective does one apply to someone who treats the Body and Blood of our Lord in this manner? Thank God the sewer episode did not actually occur, but it almost did. As for the chemical disinfectants, does the Life of the World need disinfecting?

Does the readership now understand why the multiple spoon practice is such an utter blasphemy? It is better NOT to offer Holy Communion at all, than to offer it in this manner.

To the parishioner who betrayed our communion practices to the Toronto Public Health authorities, I pose these questions: Are you now satisfied with the ‘solution’ you brought about? Do you feel safer now if the priest licks your spoon after he communes you? And if you do, are you not concerned about the health of your priest in the event that you might be carrying a deadly virus? Are you not concerned about your own health if the next communion spoon that goes into your mouth carries traces of your priest’s saliva or the unknown toxins of a chemical bath? Clearly, you did not think this through before complaining to the public health authorities. If you have concerns about your health, you should do as St. Paul advises and NOT commune. If you didn’t know that St. Paul said that taking Holy Communion is not your right, perhaps you should start reading the Holy Bible.

To his Eminence, who clearly did not think this through either, I pose these questions:

• In your multiple discussions with your priests and your telephone conversations with government and public health, did you not address the issue of how to clean the spoons after communion?
• How does one have a meaningful conversation about safety with public health without addressing the sanitization of a reusable spoon?

Strong evidence that such a discussion never took place is this after-communion confusion that can only come about from a complete absence of any directive to the priests on what to do with the multiple spoons after communing with them. The least you could have done if your directives in this matter were well intentioned, was to have sought the advice of your colleague, his Eminence Elpidophoros, who introduced the multiple communion spoons well before you did and had some experience in the matter. (By the way, most churches in his jurisdiction have gone back to using the single lavida, perhaps because of the practical problems they faced with the issue of how to ‘clean’ so many spoons). Clearly you did not do this either, which means that you only speak to us about worshiping, not the lavida, but the Body and Blood of the Lamb; but in practice, you throw Him in with the dirty dishes!

This circus of spoons would be laughable if it were not so criminal in its treatment of the holiest thing in the Universe – the very Body and Blood of Christ, our God. What a fine mess you have gotten us into your Eminence, and what a fine mess you have gotten yourself into. The more you persist in this foolish travesty, the worse you look, both in our eyes and in the eyes of the God you say you believe in. In this instance, if I were you, I would take the advice of a sinful ‘idolater’ and back-peddle as quickly as possible to the ONE HOLY LAVIDA before the wrath of God falls upon us all.

Through the tearful intercessions of the Holy Theotokos, may God forgive us!

Irene Polidoulis