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Public Orthodoxy
When Archbishop Elpidophoros submitted an encyclical
regarding COVID-19 to his faithful on behalf of the Holy Synod of the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America, what I found more scandalous and tragic than
the pandemic itself was the judgmental and self-righteous voice from so many
“faithful” (both clergy/hierarchs and laity) who spoke against those who were
afraid to approach the chalice because of fear of catching a disease or
spreading it.
Among the most troubling comments I’ve seen are: “If you believe that
you will get sick by partaking of Holy Communion, you are in sin and
should not approach.” And another: “How can you believe that the Body
and Blood of Christ can make you sick?”
Are these really the kinds of comments that lead us to God? Is the
pandemic some sort of spiritual contest where we need are going to prove
to the social-media world just how much more faith we have than others?
Now, before I go on, let me affirm that the Body and Blood of Christ
cannot make anyone sick. We believe and confess that the Body of Blood
of Christ is the medicine of eternal life. This is true because of His
mercy and love for us. The Eucharist, like the love of Christ, is also a
medicine that subdues arrogance. As Christians, we must show the world
that we are the Church for all people of faith. Those with strong faith,
those with no faith and those who struggle with faith.
When the Lord resurrected from the dead, He appeared to Mary
Magdalene just outside His tomb. When Mary went to touch Him, the Lord
said, “Do not touch me for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” But
when He appeared to the apostles, Thomas, the chief among doubters, was
told that they had seen the Lord. Thomas responded and said, “Unless I
see in His hands the print of the nails and put by finger into the print
of the nails, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe” (John
20:25). The Lord appeared to Thomas even during his doubt. How profound
that is for all of us! He appears to those who doubt because of His love
and compassion and we are told to “not be unbelieving but believing.”
He appears to us in the chalice and we still can approach and touch Him
through the Eucharist even if it is done privately for those who are
afraid for the time being while challenging the recipient to pray for
their doubt or fear.
We must remember the first Eucharistic gathering or the first “Divine
Liturgy” in the Last Supper. Did Christ now allow Judas, the one who
was going to betray Him, to partake of His Body and Blood? Did not the
Incarnate Son of the Living God know that Judas was going to betray Him
and yet He still allowed Him to partake? He even washed his feet! Did He
ask Him to leave the presence of the Last Supper? No, He did not.
Can you imagine the pain and anguish of the person who is afraid to
approach the chalice? Do you think that people who struggle with this
actually feel good about themselves? Do we want those gripped by fear to
feel like outcasts? Do we not see that when we criticize, we make
matters worse?
Did the Lord rebuke the woman with the issue of blood when she
approached to touch Him (Mark 5:25)? Did she touch the fringe of His
garment while bleeding or did she wait until the bleeding stopped?
I refuse to believe that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would ever
tell someone who is faithful in so many ways but struggles with
approaching the chalice because of fear of disease, “Stay away because
of your lack of faith.” This is not the Christ we worship and adore.
The Lord we worship and adore is the One Who says one thing to all
peoples regardless of their faith and their sin, “Come to me my
child.” A person who is faithful, prayerful, church-going, feeds the
poor, visits the sick and imprisoned but who struggles with this one
thing—fear to approach the chalice during a pandemic—should not be
beaten up by more zealous members of the Church, whether lay or
clerical. No one should publicly equate someone else’s fear with
sin. Yes, our Lord said time and again, “do not be unbelieving but
believing.”
In my estimation, one of the most profound passages of Scripture is
found in the Gospel according to Mark 9:23-25. When a man brought his
son, a demoniac, to be healed by the Lord, the Lord said to the father,
“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” But
the text continues, adding the greatest prayer in all of Scripture–the
father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe;
help my unbelief.” As a priest, I often recite this prayer when I leave a
prison or a children’s cancer hospital. My faith in those situations,
to be honest, is rocked to the core. I offer this prayer repeatedly
throughout the day.
How did the Church of the New Testament grow from eleven apostles to
hundreds of faithful who were baptized? It is because the early church
was a community of unconditional love and mercy in the face of revenge
and punishment. It was a community of forgiveness, patience and
compassion. This is what converted so many to believe in the ONE Who is
Most Merciful, Compassionate, and Loving. The non-believers were
converted because they witnessed a community of love, mercy and
forgiveness no matter what. Yes, indeed, miracles did help with
converting non-believers to believe in the Gospel of Christ, but let us
be honest, the most moving experience we have whether as a believer or
not is when we are truly forgiven and embraced by the one we have sinned
against. We are loved into the Kingdom of God not feared into the
Kingdom.
Fr. Elias Villis is priest at the Greek Orthodox Church of Our Saviour in Rye, New York and chaplain for Fordham University’s Orthodox Christian Fellowship.
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