Orthodox Reflections

In Greece, the bishops have agreed to begin the Paschal services at 9 p.m. on Saturday to comply with a curfew. The Greek hierarchs said of their decision: “Wishing the best pastoral service for the faithful, who should in no way be deprived of participation in the joy of the Resurrection, (the hierarchs) decided unanimously using the economy of the Church, as shown in its rich tradition, to adjust the time of the Resurrection service to 9:00 p.m. on Holy Saturday.” Not just the time has changed. Other restrictions include one person per 25 square meters, and no more than 100 parishioners per cathedral, regardless of size.

In Cyprus, the Ministry of Health will postpone the curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. This change will allow the faithful to celebrate Pascha on the correct day. Very benevolently, the government will also allow citizens to attend Holy Week Services and Pascha without SMS permission. Even better, on Pascha, unlike other days, Cypriots will be allowed to leave their houses twice. On regular days, Cypriots can only leave their houses once after getting government permission via SMS. However, Holy Week and Pascha services can only be attended by up to 50 parishioners, and everyone must have proof of vaccination. Those who have not been vaccinated will be allowed to stand in the church courtyard. This is a compromise, as the government first wanted to close the churches.

Segregating parishioners by vaccine status is already happening elsewhere, but this is the first time we know of that an Orthodox Church has embraced this abomination.

To please the government, the Orthodox Church in Cyprus will become an arm of vaccine enforcement. Exactly the situation that we have worried about in the United States and Canada. The Cypriot Church may be first, but such things in our modern world never stay confined to just one country. As one Israeli activist said of the draconian Israeli vaccine passport system (one must show proof of vaccine to buy groceries), “Whatever happens here will happen everywhere.” Historically, the Cypriots are a tough and very Orthodox people. If they bend the knee in this way over Pascha, the holiest day of the year, then do not live under any illusions. This is possible anywhere.

Cyprus, by the way, has been doing masks and other restrictions for months. None of it is working.

None of it will ever work. Masks, lockdowns, social distancing – all of these things have proven totally ineffective in long-term control of a respiratory virus. Cypriot hospitals are strained because the government refuses to allow treatment of Covid in its early stages or to encourage Cypriots to do healthy things to boost natural immunity. There are effective treatments for a virus that over 99.9% survive, and from which hundreds of millions have already recovered. Regardless of the facts, in Cyprus and in many other countries, there is a single-minded focus on forcing everyone to get vaccinated while maintaining authoritarian social controls. This is a recipe for tyranny, not public health.

This is not just happening in Orthodox countries, or to Orthodox Churches. Canada has been closing and harassing churches of all persuasions. Arrests are starting of those Christians who disobey the orders of the Canadian government. All over the world, life as we know it has been abolished in favor of “keeping us safe.” Those who grew up under communism are screaming warnings. Is anyone listening?

In our community in Florida, the Serbian and Antiochian Western Rite parishes are worshipping normally all week – no masks or restrictions. The local OCA parish is still masked up and socially distanced, but this will end May 30th. Thankfully, an OCA bishop renounced the idea of vaccine passports for church attendance. He may be the first Orthodox hierarch in North America to do so. The local Greek parish is almost as “locked down” as it was in middle of 2020, with no end in sight. While governments in Greece and Cyprus have resorted to heavy-handed tactics, the Metropolis of Atlanta seems to have fully embraced the new Gospel of “Covid” voluntarily.

Not all Orthodox Bishops, Greek or otherwise, are accepting the “new normal.” One of the most forceful advocates for tradition is Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou. Below is a homily which was forwarded to us by a Greek Orthodox contributor in Canada. It is powerful and prophetic. Please read it and share it.

Orthodox Reflections Staff  

Translation of Homily Given by Metropolitan Neophytos of Morphou into English by Christiana Fidirikkos

May our works be blessed even though the authorities in this world make it difficult with these measures they enforced on our nation & more so The Resurrection of our Christ as they don’t want our nation to be strengthened by The Resurrection of Christ.

Why? One who lives The Resurrection may also Protest! The people of the New World Order are scared of this. As it seems these people want the Orthodox to celebrate Pascha not on the 3rd Day, the Day it should be, on the Sunday. This is why it’s called Holy Saturday in the Holy Gospel.

Sunday, is the Day of The Resurrection of Christ, it should be celebrated on this day. Like you heard today and every other times, in the Holy Gospel the Apolytikion of Lazarus and his Resurrection. This is our Certificate!

Just like Christ Resurrected Lazarus, He will also Resurrect us and nobody will remain in their graves.

Our soul is Eternal Life, this is our perspective, just as long as we want it, God wants it.

There are evil people, people from other religions and faiths, masons, satanists, fanatic zionists, only certain Jews, not all, want to bring confusion to the celebrations mainly of the Orthodox.

Why the Orthodox?

Because the Orthodox is the one and only true Church, the God/ Human Body of Christ.

Especially this year, the Jewish “Fasca” this is what they call Pascha, on the 1st May. Our Pascha whom 318 Holy Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Synod appointed to be celebrated after the “Fasca” of the Jews.

This is why people all over the world are trying to change the Orthodox Pascha to a different day and time than it is supposed to be.

Unfortunately in Greece, the Bishops and Archbishop agreed for Pascha and the Liturgy to begin at 9pm. If it begins at 9pm it will finish by 11pm, so they’ll celebrate on the 2nd day whilst our Christ is still in Hades.

They want to change the law of our Orthodox Church. There is a plan, slowly slowly to have one Pascha with the Catholics and one with the Jews, to guide the Orthodox to One World Religion before the Global Dictatorship!

When we first said this, they called us conspirators. Now slowly slowly their plans have been exposed and they need to be exposed.

What’s their agenda?

They’re using this illness, which does exist and we’re all living it, it is the result of all our sins, all people and all nations. They’re scaring people with masks, double & triple masking maybe tomorrow, also with vaccines that haven’t been properly researched.

Many scientists are talking about Genetically modified vaccines, what does this mean? Children will be injected, girls injected will become sterile and babies being born will have many different abnormalities, physical disabilities, respiratory disorders, Down syndrome, anemia and many more.

This is said by great doctors, in particular one well-known doctor who won a Noble Prize for his findings of AIDs and he says what I convey to you.

They will not allow for our voices to be heard, whenever they hear these videos they take them down from YouTube. Understand we live in totalitarian times, they’re introducing it politely.

They say your kids need to have the vaccine to attend school, what are the parents to do? Parents have a problem. To use the health services you need the vaccine with a certificate and a follow up every six months.

If these changes are occurring in fertilization do you know what this means?

It means our grandkids and great grandkids they’ll be burdened with these illnesses. The older ones will have many side affects.

We have a duty to tell you our thoughts and the choices are yours. What I want Father Eleftherios is what we did every other year in regards to the Holy Week and the Liturgy. Our doors of our Churches will remain open for all. Men and Women, sick and healthy.

The Church is a Hospital, for our soul and body, how many people have come to Church unhealthy physically and spiritually and have become well? Healthy people have come to Church and died in Church. My Aunty Anna, died immediately after consuming Holy Communion and this was seen as a good sign.

We live and work towards Eternal Life, old and young, healthy and the sick, vaccinated and unvaccinated, masked and unmasked.

We commune The Body and Blood of Christ, we receive The Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of our sins and for our Eternal Life.

People ask me, don’t people get sick in Church?

Yes we do, just like when feel the cold but what does the Father say when it’s time to commune, “With Fear of God with Faith and Love come Forward.“

Whoever communes with Fear of God, with Faith and Love in Orthodoxy, the only thing they receive is The Holy Spirit and not any illnesses even if a person next to me has leprosy.

When we have fear of illnesses, fear of people, what we’re afraid of will happen whether we’re inside or outside the Church.

Do you realize what the Fear of God is? We only need the Fear of God and whatever other fears we have about how and when we’ll leave Earth, it’s up to God. God tells us during our funeral service.

I want the committee to be very polite and not be like police officers. Even if the state requires 50 people to enter the Church vaccinated with a certificate, for us The Holy Baptism is our Certificate.

Don’t request 40 or 50 people only. Our Holy Gospel says, as many or as little may enter.

What a beautiful service we’ve had today, as if we were the Patriarchate.

Please, with the good spirit tell all the people in the other parishes, The Litany of The Burial of Christ will be held around the Church and not on the streets so we don’t provoke. If anyone wants to come with masks can, it’s up to you but you need to kiss the Holy Icons without a mask and receive the Holy Bread without a mask, kissing the Father’s hand.

The Priest who gives the Holy Bread without fear of getting sick is a winner with Christ. My message is don’t be provocative or less Orthodox than in previous years.