Orthodox Reflections

Note: We’ve added another letter below from The Reverend Deacon John Grigaitis concerning Orthodox prophecies about the vaccines (Don’t take them!) These prophecies support concerns that the vaccine mandates could be the prelude to the Mark of the Beast. In addition, the letter makes it clear that demons have been talking to holy elders about the vaccines. Demons have said they use the jabs to enter the bodies of  humans. See the new document below. We have also published new answers to the HR questions by combining successful answers from many health care and other workers. Vist the HR questions page here. Also, we highly recommend this page on vaccine exemptions on the Liberty Council site. There is a page to ask for legal help if you are suffering religious discrimination, and a page there to give you advice on what to do if you are denied. Update: 11/23/2021

In the post below, we outline three major arguments for religious exemptions that can all work together – 1) Abortion and aborted fetal cells usage are abhorrent to Orthodox Christians 2) Orthodox Saints have commanded us to avoid these vaccines and as their spiritual children we must obey 3) We have been given free will by God which is sacred, and cannot be overridden by any mandate that violates our conscience. 

Note on a Major Update to This Article: This article was updated to add two new sections at the bottom. These are two new, additional arguments for religious exemptions. They can be argued together with opposition to abortion and aborted fetal cells. The first is obedience to Saints of the Church that warned Orthodox to not take the current vaccines. This is supported by a copy of a clerical letter. Click here to skip down to it. The second new argument is based on free will and freedom of conscience. The recent announcement from the RC on military freedom of conscience, coupled with a tremendous argument from the Orthodox side that we published on this site, makes free will / freedom of conscience a compelling stand-alone or additional argument. Click here to skip down to the section on Free Will. Update 10/14/2021.

Note: Please see the bottom of this article for important updates and new exemption templates. As more information and templates are available to us, we will continue to update this article. Latest update 9/7/2021.

Note: Please see this article for a compendium of resources on the true health effects of the vaccines. Multiple videos and links to important information proving the vaccines are not safe, not effective, and are especially not for children. Update 9/15/2021.

Note: We have added a link below to a statement against the vaccines and against vaccine mandates by Bishop Siluan of Bishop of the Metropolitante of Australia and New Zealand of 
The Serbian Orthodox Church. In his letter, he specifically directs the faithful to rely on his words as support for the Orthodox position. We have also added a link to a letter from Bishop George of Canberra Auxiliary Bishop Australia-New Zealand Diocese Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia who also rejects vaccines with ties to abortion. Update 9/16/2021.

Note: Concern over the Greek Archdiocese claiming no religious exemption exists has troubled many. We have published two responses to the egregious assault on God-given free will as represented by such mandates. These mandates are an assault on our religious freedom, and any support of them is heretical and anti-Orthodox.  COVID Vaccine Mandates: Is Elpidophoros on the Wrong Side of Patristic Tradition? and Orthodox Resistance to Vaccine Mandates: Men Have Become Wolves to Men Update 9/21/2021.

Note: If you are getting challenges, or think you might get challenges, over the previous use of products / medicines that were developed or tested using aborted fetal cell lines, then you need to read this article from an Orthodox physician. She is spot on with advice on how to handle anyone trying to convince you that this is a “small” ethical question. The truth is that we have been consistently lied to and mislead about the use of aborted fetal cells by products and medicines. Even prescribing physicians did not know how widespread their use was. Simply being tricked before into an ethical lapse does NOT justify being coerced into a COVID vaccine against your will and ethical judgment. Update 10/6/2021.

Note: If you have submitted your request and gotten questions from HR, please read this article on strategies for handling them. Update 10/11/2021.

Note: A reader brought our attention to Lawyer Jeff Childers who gives excellent general information on religious exemptions at his website coffeeandcovid.com Here is a sample of some of his advice from his October 11, 2021 email/post.

“Let me be clear about something. There’s no such thing as a “religious exemption REQUEST.” You don’t have to REQUEST it. It’s the LAW. They have to accommodate your religious or moral beliefs. It’s the employer’s burden, not yours. All you have to do is NOTIFY THEM of your sincerely-held religious or moral beliefs. Stop thinking you have to beg for it.”

When writing to or talking with your employer (from his September 8, 2021 email/post):

“— Do NOT try to be an armchair theologian. It is enough if you prayed about it and determined that God doesn’t want you to take the safe and effective vaccines. You don’t have to prove your encyclopedic biblical knowledge.”

“— Don’t engage in theological debates with anyone. Agree to disagree. THEIR beliefs are irrelevant. It’s YOUR beliefs that matter.”

Update 10/18/2021.

For many Orthodox Christians, the COVID vaccines present moral problems. All of them made some use of aborted fetal cells at some stage(s) of testing, development, production, and design. An Orthodox MD provided a handy chart to illustrate this:

Known Role of Aborted Fetal Cell Lines in Some Covid-19 Vaccines

Orthodox Christians are pro-life. Any connection to the use of aborted fetal cell lines is morally troubling for many. In addition, the mRNA technologies involve an alteration of Human Substance/Ontology at the cellular level. For many Orthodox Christians, this is an immoral change to our humanity.

Despite these two important facts, many Orthodox Christians have indicated to us that their priests are unwilling to support their requests for religious exemptions. A segment of Orthodox priests and bishops believe the vaccines are morally acceptable. There are multiple reasons for that, including:

• Misunderstanding the facts. Several bishops have indicated that aborted fetal lines were only used in confirmatory testing. That is not the case, as the chart above makes clear. Even in the case of Pfizer, we cannot be sure that aborted fetal cells were only used in testing.
• The age of the fetal cell lines is cited by some Orthodox leaders. The aborted fetal lines date back to the 1960’s and have been cultured in the lab for decades. Therefore, some Orthodox clergy have concluded that they are acceptable to use.
• The good outweighs the bad. While some clergy acknowledge that a connection to aborted fetal cells is morally troubling, the lives saved from the vaccines outweigh the concerns in their opinion.
• Many clergy simply don’t want to get involved and be criticized as “anti-science” or run the risk of stirring up division in their parishes. If they support religious exemptions, they could be seen as implicitly condemning the choices made by their vaccinated parishioners. Or even their own decisions to be vaccinated.

While this situation is frustrating, it is not really a barrier to requesting a religious exemption. You do not need clergy support for a religious exemption to the Covid vaccines. What matters is your deeply held, sincere interpretation of your religious beliefs. This is from the Petrie Flom Center at Harvard Law:

Additionally, states cannot refuse an exemption to those whose interpretation differs from their religion’s doctrine regarding vaccination. It’s not the state job to enforce a religion’s rules on its believers, the state is tasked simply with assessing whether the religious objection is sincere. This too makes sense, but again, makes it harder to challenge religious exemption claims by members of religions that support vaccines. Assessing sincerity is tricky grounds.

Let me repeat – you do not need a note from your bishop or your priest to support a request for a religious exemption. The beliefs of our clergy are not the issue in such a request. Your religious beliefs are. As you might imagine, Harvard Law is not noted for its support of religious freedom. Yet, even Harvard has had to acknowledge that state governments cannot be empowered to interpret religious rules. Secular bureaucrats are simply not up to the challenge.

Neither is your company’s HR Department.

An Orthodox poster has done a tremendous of accumulating a substantial amount of proof that the Covid vaccines are immoral for Orthodox Christians. The links to his documents are at the bottom of this article. I strongly suggest you download them and use his research as the basis of your request.

Here are some additional suggestions:

• State multiple times in your exemption request that you have a sincere, deeply held religious objection to these vaccines. Make that very, very clear.
• Use the research provided in the documents, plus any additional research, to submit a lengthy request. A short request, even if it were from a priest / pastor, is more likely to be challenged. Make your case in a detailed manner. The more supporting research, the better.
• The person reading your request doesn’t have to subscribe to your religious beliefs. In fact, to him / her, they could be completely incomprehensible. The secular world doesn’t understand Orthodoxy very well. But whoever is reviewing your request needs to believe that you sincerely believe what you are saying. Sometimes, as Orthodox Christians, we are reticent to talk about our faith as we might seem “proud.” This is not the time for humility. Be direct in your verbiage as to why these vaccines are repugnant to you as a committed Orthodox Christian. Your faith is of utmost importance to you. Everyone reading your request has to come away understanding that fact.
• There is going to be a lot of concern that religious exemptions will be used to “game the system.” This is from the previously cited Harvard Law article, “In fact, given the amount of misinformation about vaccine safety and the virus, chances are that most of the exemption requests are from people who do not want to get COVID-19 vaccines because of safety concerns or misinformation about the pandemic.” In your request, do not mention concerns over potential side effects, lack of FDA approval, or lack of efficacy. You may very well have other concerns besides your moral objections. However, if you put those concerns into your request, then it will only muddy the waters and increase the likelihood that your request will be challenged. It is enough to reject these vaccines because they are offensive to God. No other reasons are necessary for those of us who care about our immortal souls.
• Do not merely copy / paste the information contained in the documents below. The documents have been emailed, downloaded, and reposted hundreds of thousands of times. These are guides. Make the information your own. These are your deeply held beliefs. Take the time and effort to make your case for why Holy Orthodoxy rejects these vaccines.
• Lastly, if you are challenged on the merits of your exemption request – continue to repeat that you have sincere, deeply held religious objections to these vaccines. Know the facts of your beliefs as you have presented them in your exemption request. Stick to the points you have already made in writing. Do not debate the merits of these vaccines in terms of safety or efficacy. You have no opinion on those topics. Do not discuss vaccines in general. Do not get into a debate over what the Pope or the Ecumenical Patriarch or anyone else has said about these vaccines. Your beliefs are the issue here, not anyone else’s. Do not answer hypothetical questions such as, “Would this be okay if the vaccine saved your child’s life?” If you feel that your rights are being infringed, be prepared to seek legal counsel.

May the Holy Theotokos save us.

Word Documents and PDF versions of the religious exemption documents below:

1. Compilation of Synodal Statements, Medical Studies, Professional Dissertations, and Hierarchical and Monastic Statements which either forbid totally or recommend against receiving the COVID-19 Vaccine. Confirmation that it is not only your right to not be subject to the COVID Vaccine, but also a duty as an Orthodox Christian. It is contradictory to the Orthodox Faith no matter how you look at it. It cannot be justified and may even lead to our eternal spiritual disaster.

Word version / PDF version

2. List of reasons why it would not impede mission readiness, nor disrupt physical capacity to perform, if you do not receive a COVID Vaccine.

Word version / PDF version

3. Complete request for military exemption, including cover letter and the above two documents. This request is based on the doctrinal mandate to abstain from any medicines which are the product of immoral production, and the religious advisory of the synods, hierarchs, elders, medical workers of the Eastern Orthodox Church against the COVID-19 vaccine.

Word version / PDF version

4. Click here for another sample exemption employment letter from the Rutherford Institute (pdf).

Update 9/7/2021: We are adding three more exemption request templates below, and a checklist for those wishing to make their employers aware of their potential liability for requiring Covid Vaccines. While the manufacturers are protected from liability, companies requiring the vaccines are not. Also, several readers have sent us employer forms that appear to require a member of the clergy to sign off on the religious exemption.

Upon challenge, in each case, the employer HR representative acknowledged that they will accept the form without any clergy input. Unfortunately, many of our Orthodox clergy lack the strength of faith to assist the faithful in standing strong for Orthodoxy. If this is the case with you, then do not be troubled. Explain in your exemption request why your sincerely held Orthodox Christian belief requires you to refuse the COVID shots, and that you will be attesting to that on your own. In America, you can be a religion of “one.” You are not required to belong to an “official” church, nor are you required to abide by all the “official” tenets of the one to which you belong. Do not let the “requirement” for a clergy signature / supporting letter stop you from requesting an exemption.

Further, even in government capacities, merely requesting the exemption will prevent you from having to take a “vaccine” while the exemption is being reviewed. As you can see from the serious COVID infections occurring in highly vaccinated areas (such as Israel) the vaccines are clearly failing. Even if your request is ultimately denied, who is to say whether or not two or three months from now the vaccine requirements themselves may be a thing of the past?

Some employer forms that we have seen try to make it seem that you must be morally opposed to all vaccines in order to oppose these “vaccines.” That is a trap. Do not fall for it. Even Orthodox Christians have been intentionally conflating opposition to these shots with being “anti-vax” (not an Orthodox position). One example posted on our site: “Vaccines save lives. The smallpox vaccine caused thousands to convert to Orthodoxy thanks to St. Innocent. Preventing illness or death is what God’s grace in doctors and scientists makes possible. Would you, how can you?, negate the work of Saint physicians?”

Orthodoxy is not anti-vaccine. We are anti-“vaccines” which have made use of aborted fetal cell lines in some form during any stage of research, production, and/or testing. The Small Pox vaccines recommended by St. Innocent to native Alaskans did NOT use aborted fetal cells. Do not allow anyone to trap you into going too far in your exemption request. That could open up a line of challenge. It isn’t the concept of a vaccine or a medical treatment that poses moral problems with the COVID “vaccines” for Orthodox Christians, it is their connection to abortion. 

In addition, for your own benefit, understand that before now all vaccines worked by introducing into the body a harmless piece of a particular bacteria or virus (weakened or killed) triggering an immune response. The COVID vaccines relying on mRNA technology are completely different. mRNA vaccines work by introducing a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein. Using this mRNA blueprint, cells produce the viral protein and it is hoped that an immune response will be triggered. The COVID “vaccines” are not really vaccines. They are a type of injected medical device or therapy, but nothing that previously would have been recognized as a vaccine. What are the moral and health implications of turning humans into spike protein factories? We are only just beginning to grapple with those. What we do know is that the changes at the cellular level are denounced by many Orthodox Theologians.

Finally, you may be asked if you have ever taken another vaccine or a medicine which make use of aborted fetal cell lines. In fact, you may be given a list of such drugs / vaccines and asked which you have taken. The implication is that you have already “waived away” your right to object by already being complicit in the use of aborted fetal cells. Orthodox Christians have even made this case. This is simply bullying. Even many MD’s prescribing such medicines had no idea they were connected to abortion. This connection is not a fact pharmaceutical companies are eager to disclose. If you had known, you would have avoided them. You did not know about them, but you are aware of this connection and you do not wish to participate in this sin. There is no such thing as “squatters’ rights” in sin. Now that you are aware, you will no longer participate.

Also be advised, that many of the “lists” of drugs connected to abortion can be misleading. Drugs may be off patent and so produced by multiple companies, not all of which use or have used aborted fetal cell lines. Our opponents in this debate are not fair and do not actually care about the state of your soul. Please see additional templates below.

5. Exemption Request Prepared by a Lawyer – An employee of a major corporation shared this document with us. It was prepared for him by an attorney. It is quite good. Click here for this template in word.

6. Sample Religious Exemption Request from Fr. Alexander Webster – Fr. Alexander Webster wrote a very good challenge to the pro-vaccine statement of the Orthodox Theological Society. You can find it here our own response is here. Fr. Alexander contributed this template which was forwarded to us.  It is written from a ROCOR perspective, but works for any Orthodox Christian.

7. Combined Format Religious Exemption Request – A reader forwarded this template to us. It combines sections of other templates and is a quite effective. Click here to download.

8. Checklist for Employer Liability – This checklist can be used with, or in place of, a religious exemption request to make employers aware of potential liability for injuries / effects subsequent to requiring a COVID “vaccine” as a condition of employment. Click here to download.

Update 9/16/2021

9. Recent Hierarchical Letters –  We have added links to two Orthodox bishops speaking out about the moral ethics of the vaccine and the vaccine mandates. Bishop Siluan the Bishop of the Metropolitante of Australia and New Zealand of the The Serbian Orthodox Church said this in part:

Orthodox Christians, for example, have a moral issue accepting vaccines that have been developed from cell lines that were obtained from tissues harvested from aborted fetuses. The issue of ethical concerns for such vaccines was raised last year by some of the major Christian jurisdictions in Australia, such as the Roman Catholic, the Anglican and Greek Orthodox Archdioceses.

 

Therefore, the moral concerns of Christians should be taken into consideration, as they are not simply subjective views, but derive from the fundamental positions and core beliefs of the Church.

 

That is why our faithful may appeal to this, our Archpastoral letter, and other statements of the Orthodox Church as to why they are unable to receive these particular vaccines.

 

I would also like to mention as a great concern the alarming prospects of the introduction of Vaccine Passports. I believe that this will lead to a two-tiered society, it will divide people, families, and friends and will provide a basis for acts of discrimination and ostracization.

The entire letter can be read here.

Bishop George of Canberra Auxiliary Bishop Australia-New Zealand Diocese Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia said this in part:

There are some Orthodox hierarchs who condone taking the vaccines, even though they contain fetal cells, or are derived from fetal cells, thereby being a direct product of abortion. In good conscience, as an Orthodox Christian, I cannot agree with this view and cannot condone it.

The entire letter can be read here. Bishop George also denounced the concept of vaccine passports. The bishop states that the essential message of the Gospel is free will and strongly condemns vaccine passports. He flatly states that the Church will not enforce such a measure, and will remain open to all. Complete letter can be read here.

Update 10/14/2021 – We are adding two new sections with alternate / supplemental considerations for religious exemptions outside of the moral objection to aborted fetal cells. See them below.

10. Obedience to Orthodox Spiritual Fathers who Warned About the “Vaccines” – The Reverend Deacon John Grigaitis, Patriarchal Parishes of Russian Orthodox Church in Canada wrote the following in a letter supporting religious exemptions for Orthodox Christians (emphasis added):

It is the consensus of the Church Fathers that forms the teachings and practices of the Orthodox Church, as demonstrated in the Apostolic Canons, the Seven Ecumenical Councils, the Nine Provincial Councils, and other traditions and rules of the Orthodox Church. Contemporary Church Fathers, such as Saint Paisios of Mount Athas (t1994), Elder Justin Parvu of Romania (t2013), and Elder Savvas Achilleos of Athens (t2016) specifically warned the faithful not to receive a future “vaccination.” Other Church Fathers, such Metropolitan Augustinos Kantiotes of Florina (t2010), gave supporting information confirming this. Disciples of these contemporary Fathers who have not yet reposed confirm that these warnings are in regards to the new vaccinations for Covid.

 

As a personal note, I was introduced to the wisdom of Saint Paisios of Mount Athas by one of Saint Paisios’ disciples, Schema-Hierodeacon Theophanes (Constantine). After more than 30 years on Mount Athas, he returned to Edmonton for two years before he reposed. As such, I have a personal obligation to confirm and disseminate Saint Paisios’ teachings on this issue, which can be found in Spiritual Counsels of Saint Paisios, Volume II: Spiritual Awakening.

 

Those following the consensus of the Church Fathers and would, therefore, qualify for a religious exemption from the Covid and future vaccinations would included all members of the Orthodox Church, catechumens in the process of being received into the Orthodox Church, and inquirers who have yet to make the decision to become catechumens.

A copy of the letter in PDF can be view here. As an Orthodox Christian (or anyone at any point in the process of converting), you have an obligation to follow our Church Fathers and our beloved saints. Their warnings about this vaccine are binding on our conscience as Orthodox Christians. If you do use this argument along with Free Will / Personal Conscience, then be sure to emphasize the distinction between surrendering your will to God and to a mandate of men.

Update 11/23/2021 – Reverend Deacon John Grigaitis put out an even more strongly worded letter which you can find in PDF here. Information in this new letter has been used by multiple nurses and other medical personnel as part of their case for religious exemptions. The letter includes this incredible prophecy by St. Paisos:

The words of Saint Paisios of Mount Athas (1924-1994) regarding our current situation are recorded in Volume II: Spiritual Awakening of the five volume set Saint Paisios of Mount Athas Spiritual Counsels. Prophesying in the present tense, his words were first publish in 1999: “And now a vaccine has been developed to combat a new disease, which will be obligatory and those taking it will be marked… My thinking tells me that this is the system through which the Antichrist has chosen to take over the whole world, and people who are not part of this system won’t be able to find work and so on, – whether black or white or red; in other words, everyone he will take over through an economic system that controls the global economy, and only those who have accepted the seal, the mark of the number 666, will be able to participate in business dealings.”

The HR Departments have gotten somewhat ready for aborted fetal cells as an argument, but a Mark of the Best prophecy seems to have caught them off guard. The resources using this prophecy and the association of eternal damnation have been successful so far. No challenges at all in fact.

Further, the new PDF includes the following about the demonic nature of the vaccines:

During recent encounters between holy men and demons, the demons have revealed that the use of fetal cell lines from procured abortion is foundational to how the demons enter those who receive these vaccines.

Given the outright hatred levied against those who do not wish to take these jabs, it is easy to understand that the ultimate forces behind the mandates are demons.

We have updated the HR Questions page to include complete answers that are largely taken from the resources on this page. We recommend reading them.

11. God-given Free Will and Personal Conscience – As many are aware, the Roman Catholic Church in the office of the Pope has provided a great deal of support for the COVID vaccines. However, this support is not absolute, as a key U.S. bishop, Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy P. Broglio, endorsed personal conscience (emphasis added):

Catholic U.S. troops should be allowed to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine based solely on conscientious objection and regardless of whether abortion-related tissue was used in its creation or testing, the archbishop for the military declared in a new statement supporting service members who are seeking religious exemptions.

 

“No one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,” said Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy P. Broglio, in a statement released Tuesday.

Human free will as gifted by God is paramount. Force violates your most basic rights in the image and likeness of God. You have a right to resist forced vaccination whether aborted fetal cells are involved or not. This same argument was put forward from an Orthodox perspective in this article – COVID Vaccine Mandates: Is Elpidophoros on the Wrong Side of Patristic Tradition?