An Orthodox priest advises his bishop (and, by extension, all Christian leaders),
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.
Yep, I cheered until I was hoarse, too!
Meanwhile, savor—and sign—this magnificent petition urging the Orthodox clergy to act like Orthodox clergy:
We Orthodox Christian lay people desire to attend all Orthodox services regardless of the local & State restrictions imposed upon the Church, keeping with the Orthodox Ethos and Tradition of the Church. We strongly oppose the fencing off of Icons, the mandatory use of masks, and capacity restrictions. Sign up sheets are not necessary. Enough is enough.
We understand that many parishes comply due to the threat of fines and punishment from local authorities. We understand and sympathize. However, seeing that the Constitution of the United States and its 1st Amendment guarantee our right to worship, and this has been upheld by the Supreme Court. We believe it is time to stand up, confess the faith and resist the unjust laws.
We will offer our financial and moral support to parishes that keep and maintain the Orthodox Tradition, remain open without restriction, and provide full access to the life of the Church during this time of crisis, when we need it most. On the other hand, we cannot continue to pledge our support and tithe and donate to parishes that continue to operate under these novel restrictions, which are indeed, contrary to the Lord’s will, commandments, and Holy Tradition.
We also entreat our bishops and priests to stand up and push back. We ask that our Orthodox Dioceses file lawsuits against the local authorities. We also request that our Bishops vocally object to mandatory vaccines and travel restrictions for those who refuse to be vaccinated. Besides the fact that the COVID-19 vaccine was created using aborted baby cell lines, it is now clear that new, unprecedented technology will be utilized which may be very harmful to human beings. These and other factors make it impossible for conscientious Orthodox Christians to accept the new vaccine.
Just as it was impossible for Christians to accept the COVIDCon—oh, wait: most of them did. Is that demonic laughter I hear?
6:10 pm on December 8, 2020
