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.
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:
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.
The 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
Last year as the tidal wave of Covid-19 fear began to spread in our country, our church was only allowed to have a maximum of four people attend (in addition to the priest). I was one of three pastors interviewed by our local newspaper on how we were going to handle it. Based on my response, the newspaper featured our iconostasis on the front page with the super bold headline of “FEAR NOT!”
Article: https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/stillwater-churches-offering-alternate-easter-services/article_d3d2c97c-8d7e-5066-b039-7f51f0b52d80.html
Picture: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqfTOM-Ba_dxhP4v0FogWfxrGM1MRg
I am a former Baptist pastor, now a catechumen in the Orthodox Church. I have asked myself frequently during the last several months why I am converting. It is of course rhetorical. The Lord completely convinced me that the Orthodox Church is in truth His Church and that there is no other. I sometimes simply wish that Orthodox leaders were of the same belief. That is to say if there actions are anything to go by. For example, a simple thing: it is my understanding that a liturgy is going into the presence of God. That is why it is so important to attend liturgy. My priest has been emphatic about this. I live 2 1/2 hours away from my parish, so it is something of a journey to attend liturgy. But then when I ask my priest: why are we masking, social distancing, etc. in the presence of God, he will not respond. I asked him back in March if the Church will require a vaccine to attend liturgy. He said that he would do what his Bishop tells him to do. I would go to another parish- but it is my understanding that they are the same.
Please someone tell me what on earth is going on? Where does this blindness come from?
You ask fair questions Jeff. I am only so sorry that you’ve had to face this during your time in the catechumenate. I can only imagine how much it must shake your convictions — it certainly has mine, and I speak as a convert in full communion with the Church of several years now.
What is going on is surely a stumbling block for all the faithful for various reasons. Be assured, there is not one Saint who has shone forth in the history of the Church who has ever counselled staying away from church and blaspheming the Holy Eucharist during times of disease. Quite the opposite, in fact, is true.
My message to you is this: don’t give up on the Church. The Saints are praying with you. Human beings are complicated and fallen and very often make terrible makes, with truly awful consequences. But God is not complicated. He sees us in our infirmity and has mercy on us. Our bishops are heirs to the holy Apostles, but they are still human beings. Some are experienced and should no better, but others are not, or are disconnected from real parish life. Forgive them, first of all, and pray for them, even as a catechumen, your prayers matter. We, the faithful who sympathise, are with you all the way. As Nicholas who helps to run this site said to me before, we’re all in this together, for real, through the One Body of Christ, the Church. Keep in contact with like-minded people who might be able to help you. There are still sensible lay people and priests out there who will be happy to hear from you.
It’s interesting to note that these challenges are affecting the Church in the West far more than in the countries in the East which have the persecution of various groups still fresh in their religious consciousness. I’m talking about the Slavic countries, of course, and Georgia, which have responded better. Russia’s response wasn’t perfect but they’re starting to regain their senses there now and opposing the “new normal”. Greece is not the country it used to be, and hasn’t lived under persecution for nearly some two hundred years now, so I’m not surprised that things are difficult even there.
One thing I learnt the hard way is that joining the True Church doesn’t mean joining the Perfect Church, because the latter, I can assure you, does not exist. I don’t mean to dismiss your concerns, because I share them, and I’ve felt all the emotions you no-doubt feel now — anger, abandonment, disappointment, despondency, and so on. But despite our bishops’ failures, this is not (yet) a persecution, and things could be a lot worse. If this is to become a persecution going forward, and it could well happen, perhaps that will be a good thing. It’s in God’s hands. Remember not to neglect prayer. I won’t neglect to pray for you.
With love in Christ,
Alban
Count me among those wanting to convert to Orthodoxy and being held back by the irrational fear of this virus. The local OCA Mission Parish, whom I would think would be longing for new members, has restarted Vespers and Liturgy after an absence of six months. In their website notes, we are admonished that the Vespers is only open to current members.
The martyrs must be spinning in their graves and the Christians in Muslim countries, who face being blown up every Sunday, yet continue to worship, must be shaking their heads at us in dismay.
Sorry to hear that, Edward. I think you’re right about us putting the saints to shame.
There’s really no excuse for excluding people such as yourselves from the liturgy, and I’m heartbroken when I hear it happen. There are explicit canons against such actions, and whilst the bishops claim that this is temporary, it is becoming increasingly apparent that this might not be true, even in the long run. I feel for you. I hope there is some other place, perhaps under a different Orthodox jurisdiction, where you can go. If not, Lord have mercy.
God bless Fr. Patrick and all who have stood up against this madness so far.
It occurred to me the other week if the Church- the clergy and the hierarchs- don’t speak out on “secular issues,” like things in the political and social sphere, that is actually evidence of the secularization of the Church. For example, imagine if an Islamic mullah announced that Christians in a specific area would be murdered if they did not convert to Islam. I’m confident most clergy and hierarchs would speak out against that since it is a clear threat and directed towards Christians and is “religious” in nature.
However, how many clergy and hierarchs think that speaking out about the devastation caused by the coronavirus lockdowns is a “secular” issue that they should not comment on? I have a feeling that this is an issue for some leaders in that they feel that speaking out against the lockdowns and government orders would be “taking sides” where they feel that they should “stay out of political issues.”
However, the Church as the Body of Christ is able to speak into any issue with clear moral and spiritual ramifications since the whole world was created by and ultimately belongs to Christ. Saying that the Church cannot comment on social or political issues secularizes the Church because it limits the the Church’s witness and also overlooks that fact that every aspect of how we live has spiritual possibilities and/or consequences.
Thoughts?