Faith Over Fear – Apostolic Boldness in the Age of COVID

One of our Church friends recently posted a sad message for the holidays. Her son, barely in his 30’s and in good health, has refused to come to Christmas unless the entire family is tested for COVID and the numbers are limited. A tech worker and cradle Orthodox, he has remained mostly holed-up in his home since the “pandemic” arrived. This wonderful lady of God has not seen her son for months, and now will miss him over Christmas, unless she is willing to limit her family’s attendance and make everyone prove a negative COVID status. All to make a young man feel secure from a virus that he may never contract, and is almost 100% guaranteed to recover from even if he does.

Sadly, his level of COVID hysteria is not unusual. A study, conducted by Franklin Templeton Investments and Gallup Research, found that Americans vastly overestimate their chances of dying from COVID-19. Even though nearly all U.S. fatalities have been among people older than 55, a large number of Americans are convinced that the risk to younger people is the same as for older ones.

1. On average, Americans believe that people aged 55 and older account for just over half of total COVID-19 deaths; the actual figure is 92%.

 

2. Americans believe that people aged 44 and younger account for about 30% of total deaths; the actual figure is 2.7%.

 

3. Americans overestimate the risk of death from COVID-19 for people aged 24 and younger by a factor of 50; and they think the risk for people aged 65 and older is half of what it actually is (40% vs 80%).

These misperceptions were deliberately cultivated. Scholars from Dartmouth College and Brown University found that 91 percent of stories by major U.S. media outlets about COVID were negative in tone compared with 54 percent for international media sources. The constant drumbeat of bad news has left many people literally paralyzed with fear. The media-induced hysteria has had far-reaching and surprising effects, even reducing the estimated number of babies born next year by up to 500,000 in what has been labeled the coming “baby bust.” The impact on churches has been catastrophic, with falling attendance and giving across the board in almost every Christian denomination.

Bishop Irenei, Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia – Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe, had this to say about fear:

This world has shown, in these past few months, what really governs it — and it is not wisdom or compassion, or science, or truth. It is fear… Man has grown accustomed to being afraid — of everything. And society considers it second-nature now to live according to this fear: states and governments announce what we are to be afraid of, alter our modes of life based on frightened responses to that fear; and as soon as one momentary fear ceases to grip us entirely, another is provided to replace it… And it is grounded, ultimately, in the one fear that a society without God cannot overcome: the fear of death.

It’s not just fear of death that has people hiding at home, it is also the fear of not conforming to and thus being judged by this world, perhaps literally in a court of law for COVID mandate violations. As one college student told us recently, “Wear the mask and keep your opinions to yourself. Don’t draw attention, or you will labeled a bad person who doesn’t care about others. You can end up on probation or being expelled for what you say or do in front of the wrong person.” There is enormous societal pressure to act afraid even if you aren’t – accept the restrictions, stay home, don’t live your life, and don’t complain or way worse things than just catching a virus could happen to you.

Christ is Risen!In the midst of this all this fear and social trauma, one would expect that the Orthodox Church would be a shining beacon of hope. Our God, Jesus Christ, actually conquered death by death. If anyone can stand up to fear, then it should be us. In the United States, Orthodoxy is already largely counter-cultural, so we should not have much concern when going against the prevailing zeitgeist. Most Americans already think we are strange with our icons, vestments, and incense. We are already not part of the norm here, so why not blaze our own trail? Who are we trying to impress by fitting in?

Sadly, however, our bishops have led our Church in a way that is not inspiring in this time of trouble. Our Orthodox Bishops have embraced every government measure to “stop the spread” from closing churches, limiting attendance, mandatory masks, “social” distancing, fencing off icons, etc. Some bishops even changed the method of receiving Holy Communion to “keep everyone safe.” The bishops have even gone so far as to frame all of these unscientific, illogical mandates as moral obligations to protect the “least of these.” We have covered the bishops and their lack of resistance extensively. 10 months into the “crisis,” the bishops seem intent on embracing the “new normal.”

Many non-hysterical Orthodox Christians, catechumens, and inquirers have been demoralized by the bishops’ actions. Mike posted this comment, “I am greatly disappointed that the Greek Orthodox Church I attend has been requiring face masks and all the other bogus regulations. It is a major distraction during the liturgy and makes me not want to go. I have only been a few times since they started requiring them and now I am just fed up with it.

David, an adult convert of 20 plus years, wrote this to us in an email about a Baptist pastor in California who spoke out against lockdowns and masks, “So again, we have a dispensationalist, Calvinist Baptist who speaks the truth and we still hear almost nothing of substance from our Orthodox bishops. (and what we do hear from them is just parroting the approved narrative) Please, be assured, I don’t want to be a dispensationalist, Calvinistic Baptist, but I sure wish we had leaders who spoke as plainly as John MacArthur.

Kate, an inquirer into Orthodoxy, wrote this as feedback on our site, “We are soon to be former protestants wanting to convert to Orthodoxy. It has been very discouraging to see churches of all backgrounds and traditions fold to these mandates, but especially to see it in the Orthodox church as we are newly come to the knowledge that she is truly the ‘pillar and foundation of truth’. Our children need baptized and we want to be able to freely partake in the liturgy and sacraments. There are several Orthodox churches near us, but all seem to require masks so far. I am checking out some others a little further away. Just very discouraged, especially since the charismatic church we currently attend doesn’t make us mask and we have catholic friends whose parish only pretends to mask. It would be a great relief to find some opposition to the ‘new normal’ among Orthodox.

Getting a reputation for zealousness for Christ is a great thing. Becoming known for our zealousness in enforcing masks and other COVID mandates – not so much. We could publish dozens and dozens more comments, but we think these are fairly representative of the feelings of hurt, betrayal, and bewilderment that many are experiencing.

Here is the quandary for the bishops. One group of believers is hysterical with fear. This is the group that the bishops have largely been catering to. But this coddling of fear is not healthy for anyone, and has upset many Orthodox Christians who now regard the bishops with anger and disappointment. What should be done to go forward?

Father Patrick Reardon showed us the way in the following suggestion offered to his own bishop:Patrick Reardon

Taking our beloved Bishop Anthony at his word, let me make the following suggestion:

 

Immediately—starting this next Sunday—Bishop Anthony should start visiting the congregations of this diocese every weekend, to convey strong messages of hope and reassurance. He should preside at the Sacred Mysteries openly, without regard to personal danger. He should appear conspicuously without the disgrace of a surgical mask. He should make a point of avoiding even the slightest appearance of apprehension.

 

A bishop must NEVER, under any circumstances, convey fear.

 

Bishop Anthony should stride into our churches with the manly majesty of an Apostle, gather God’s People into his arms, press them to his pastoral breast, and protect them from the social and political demons that are currently destroying the Church.

Orthodox ApostlesThe people who are afraid won’t be re-assured by data, charts, videos, and epistles. They are simply too far gone for logic or reason. God bless Bishop Irenei, but even his articulate words are unlikely to strengthen the resolve of even one COVID-hysterical believer. Simultaneously, those who are disappointed in the bishops are unlikely to be much encouraged by mere words. The fearful and the weary alike need bold, pastoral action of exactly the kind one would expect from an Apostle or great saint of the Church. We need to see, hear, and experience a man of God joyfully confronting fear, death, and the hostile judgment of the world. The energizing effect on the faithful will be more than we can even imagine. And not just the Orthodox will notice. Expect that such a “Faith over Fear” tour of multiple parishes will attract the admiration of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and even non-believers who are simply fed-up with the current climate of terror.

Let us repent. Let us fast. Let us pray, so that God may judge us worthy of a bishop who will listen to Father Patrick Reardon’s wise counsel. We have many good and faithful priests in the Orthodox Church. But to break this Demonic spell will require at least one bishop to go beyond the usual into the truly glorious. Nothing less will suffice.

Nicholas – member of the  Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America, a COVID refugee from the GOA

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