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Christ said that “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the
blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Matthew 12:31)
Consider with me how un-coincidental it has been that the Holy Orthodox Churches were attacked with the suggestion to implement masks exactly beginning with the Sunday of Pentecost this year. (This feast confirms the Holy Spirit, Comforter and Giver of Life yet we deny the Holy Spirit and need a mask instead? ) Remembering also when we were told not to venerate icons on the very Sunday of Orthodoxy. (This is the triump of icons over iconoclasm yet today we are called to become iconoclasts?) How backwards.....
In today's persecution, the suggestion that wearing a mask inside God's One, Holy and Apostolic Orthodox Church which is consecrated by God as His House on Earth for us His militant Church is a denial of His protection and blasphemy of the Holy Spirit present within.
In the sermon of St John Chrysostom on Matthew 12 we read that one who denies the Sacraments is involved in a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. St Paisios of the Holy Mountain also gives a more recent answer that anyone who shows disregard for the Holy things is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Consider....when Chernobyl hit...not an ounce of radiation was found anywhere inside the Orthodox Church although prevalent outside in every other sample...
Swabs have been taken directly from Holy Icons with the saliva of those whom just venerated Gods Holy image...and not a trace of bacteria found....
Lastly, several Saints have emphasized that even the dust off the floor of the Church has been sanctified by the offering of the Divine Liturgy inside those Holy walls...
So I ask you...do we need the mask or do we need the One whose power is above any mask?
Wear your masks at the grocery stores but as for Gods House you can leave them at the door! As parishioners we will answer for our choices- and obedience only applies until someone leads us astray ...then those who know better must answer themselves.
Let each man search his own conscience
Consider with me how un-coincidental it has been that the Holy Orthodox Churches were attacked with the suggestion to implement masks exactly beginning with the Sunday of Pentecost this year. (This feast confirms the Holy Spirit, Comforter and Giver of Life yet we deny the Holy Spirit and need a mask instead? ) Remembering also when we were told not to venerate icons on the very Sunday of Orthodoxy. (This is the triump of icons over iconoclasm yet today we are called to become iconoclasts?) How backwards.....
In today's persecution, the suggestion that wearing a mask inside God's One, Holy and Apostolic Orthodox Church which is consecrated by God as His House on Earth for us His militant Church is a denial of His protection and blasphemy of the Holy Spirit present within.
In the sermon of St John Chrysostom on Matthew 12 we read that one who denies the Sacraments is involved in a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. St Paisios of the Holy Mountain also gives a more recent answer that anyone who shows disregard for the Holy things is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Consider....when Chernobyl hit...not an ounce of radiation was found anywhere inside the Orthodox Church although prevalent outside in every other sample...
Swabs have been taken directly from Holy Icons with the saliva of those whom just venerated Gods Holy image...and not a trace of bacteria found....
Lastly, several Saints have emphasized that even the dust off the floor of the Church has been sanctified by the offering of the Divine Liturgy inside those Holy walls...
So I ask you...do we need the mask or do we need the One whose power is above any mask?
Wear your masks at the grocery stores but as for Gods House you can leave them at the door! As parishioners we will answer for our choices- and obedience only applies until someone leads us astray ...then those who know better must answer themselves.
Let each man search his own conscience
12 comments:
Very deep and very true!
Lord, have mercy!
We received a nation-wide letter from our Metropolitan that said if we do not comply with all the mandates and instructions from Orthodox Doctors, then we are acting "reckless" and partaking in "killing others." Other Orthodox leaders have spoken quite forcefully, even on Ancient Faith, that masks are to be worn with singing prohibited as well, including saying that if we are to question our church leaders, we are sinning and worthy of excommunication.
The first way the church will fall is from division within. I hope and pray that we can choose to continue worshipping, under any threat- like exemplified by the brave girls in The Blue Lady of Sycamore Hill, or Saint Herman who served his people in a time of pandemic that killed 60% of them. We should not be afraid if an illness killing us, we should be more afraid of us killing off our worship and shutting down our church.
Thank you for the post!
The truth about obedience to bishops:
From Metropolitan Augustinos Kantiotes:
"The Bishop must obey the Gospel. Therefore, when the Bishop is ordained, he is ordained under the Gospel and this means, as the Fathers say, that the people will obey the Bishop on one condition, that the Bishop will also obey the Gospel. But when the Bishop does not obey the Gospel and does not act according to the Holy Canon, then the clergy and the people are not obliged to obey the Bishop....
From the writings of St. Nektarios of Aegina:
"Just as the unskilled physician sends many people to the
gates of Hades, similarly, the incompetent and
imprudent spiritual father sends many souls to Hades.
O, what a terrible evil for someone to find death
while seeking treatment."
Saint Gennadios Scholarios
"Keep an eye on your bishops as far as their Orthodoxy is concerned lest they go so far as to teach doctrines against the true faith or celebrate with heretics or schismatics..."
St Symeon the New Theologian on obedience to
spiritual authorities:
"...in matters where no
transgression of God's commandments or of
the apostolic Canons and ordinances has taken place,
you ought to obey him in all things and to submit
yourselves unto him as if he were the Lord Himself.
However, in all things where the Gospel of Christ
and the laws of the Church are in danger of being
overturned, not only to him should you not submit
when he admonishes and commands you, but not
even to an angel who just came down from heaven
and who evangelizes you different things from what
the eyewitnesses of the Logos had been evangelized".
From the Apostolic Constitutions:
"...lest at any time
a lay person should say, I am a sheep and not a
shepherd, and I am not concerned for myself; let
the shepherd look to that, for he alone will be
required to give an account for me. For as that sheep
that will not follow its good shepherd is exposed to
the wolves, to its destruction; so that which follows
a bad shepherd is also exposed to unavoidable death,
since his shepherd will devour him. Wherefore care
must be had to avoid destructive shepherds.
Hi, my priest recently sent me this blog post, so thank you for standing up for the faith. I recently wrote an open letter the clergy and faithful of ROCOR on similar matters as what you’ve discussed in your post, and have been thinking about how to distribute it (I have my priest’s blessing to do this, btw). Would you consider publishing it on your blog? I am also open to any other suggestions you might have. Feel free to contact me at john.kachelmeyer@gmail.com
In Christ,
John Kachelmeyer
Grateful to Mr Constantine Zalalas for the above quotes, may God bless him!
We approach the threat yet again, to "mask up" or else. Dear John, may God give us correct discernment!
We're in NM and our antiochan church started implementing masks again. The priest said that those who don't wear masks are selfish. We are willing to drive 6 hours once or twice a month to go to another church. All the orthodox churches within this state are implementing the masks. We are not sure what we should do.
This is a very sad situation. Let us try to see it from this perspective that a wise ascetic has communicated to us:
If God is allowing this right now, without intervening, it MUST be because the FAITH of the PEOPLE as a whole has become lukewarm and WE MUST ALL REPENT. There are some families that will make a great effort to find an Orthodox place to worship God without these restrictions by driving far or waking at off hours in the night. There are many faithful who have been turned away at the front door. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT GOD IN THIS CASE CAN AND DOES GIVE HIS BLESSING OF DIVINE GRACE DIRECTLY TO THOSE PEOPLE in this situation. When we struggle just a tiny amount to fast more, increase our prayers, supplicate God to provide a change or show us a location, etc... He sees this effort and it will attract His response. Never despair.
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