Andrew Sorokowski
…more
detailed prescriptions from … bishops, and energetic execution of these
directives by both clergy and laity, will help limit the spread of
COVID-19 through the Coronavirus. It may also dispel some of the
lingering public suspicion about the Church’s alleged indifference to
science.
Both Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
and Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Major Archbishop Sviatoslav have issued
statements on the Coronavirus pandemic. Both stress the need to utilize
the insights of science as well as to fulfill the duties of Christian
faith and love. Stressing that the faith does not require “the abolition
of human reason,” Patriarch Bartholomew’s communique of 11 March 2020
calls on the faithful to adhere to the recommendations of the World
Health Organization and local authorities in order to limit the spread
of the disease. In his commentary, Sviatoslav likewise urges the
faithful to follow the directives of the national authorities. Both, of
course, remind us of the necessity of prayer.
The pandemic of COVID-19, the acute
respiratory disease caused by the Coronavirus, challenges Christian
churches to correctly harmonize religious metaphysics with scientific
knowledge. This challenge occurs along three crucial fronts. First,
Christianity is a social religion, stressing loving human interaction
and regular eucharistic gathering. Yet it is through human contact and
mere proximity that COVID-19 spreads. Second, Eastern Christianity
(Byzantine-rite Catholic as well as Eastern Orthodox) stresses the
tactile (as well as the visual, aural, and olfactory) sense: clergy and
faithful exchange kisses and kiss icons and crosses. These are obvious
occasions for the spread of the virus, which can remain alive on an
object for a considerable time and enters the human body through the
respiratory system. Third, the central Christian rite is the Eucharist.
In the Byzantine tradition, the priest administers it under both species
by dropping it from a spoon onto the tongue of the recipient. Although
the spoon should never be allowed to touch the recipient, slips occur,
and breathing onto the spoon can hardly be avoided. Thus, the
traditional manner of administering the Sacrament can be an occasion for
transmission of the virus.
Aware of the first set of dangers –
infection in large public gatherings -- Pope Francis held his weekly
Angelus appearance before the media in the privacy of his study, thus
discouraging the usual crowds in the piazza of St. Peter’s, which has
now been closed. Even the gregarious and emotionally demonstrative
Italians have taken strict precautions to stop the spread of the
Coronavirus. The public authorities urge people to maintain a personal
distance of one meter. On Thursday, 12 March the Vicar of Rome suspended
services in the churches of the Roman diocese until 3 April. In his
commentary, the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church has advised
the elderly and parents with young children to stay home. Sviatoslav
urges priests to hear Confession and administer the Eucharist in the
homes of the faithful. He also notes the availability of modern
communications. Indeed, Roman Catholics in the United States are also
considering cancelling public services altogether and advising the
faithful to follow the Mass through live streaming.
The second challenge to the Eastern
Churches is to adjust their evocative rituals to the necessities of
disease prevention. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav notes that it may be
justified to abstain from touching or kissing icons, and recommends
sanitary measures in churches. Similarly, Latin-rite Catholics have
stopped shaking hands (as is customary in the US and elsewhere) after
reciting the Lord’s Prayer. It would be advisable to avoid any touching
or kissing of either people or objects in public places and gatherings
altogether.
The third challenge is the most
sensitive because it involves the central mystery of Christian practice.
Patriarch Bartholomew’s communique reiterates the Church’s teaching on
the healing powers of Holy Communion. It does not, however, prescribe
any modification of the administration of the Eucharist – presumably
because that would be up to the heads of the various Churches of the
Orthodox communion or their eparchial bishops. Among Ukrainian
Greek-Catholics, at least one diaspora eparchy has issued relevant
guidelines for Communion. Given that the Coronavirus has already caused
one death in Ukraine as well as reaching major countries of Ukrainian
migration, and in view of its incubation period, it would be prudent to
prescribe preventive measures before – not after -- more cases are
reported. These might have to include dispensing with the spoon and
offering the Eucharist in a more hygienic manner (perhaps using
individual disposable cups).
Panic, of course, should be discouraged.
But avoidance of panic is no excuse for inaction. And piety is not
inconsistent with the use of the clear-headed reason with which God has
endowed us. The heads of the Orthodox communion and the Ukrainian
Greek-Catholic Church have acted responsibly by timely urging the
utilization of scientific knowledge for the health of their faithful.
Further, more detailed prescriptions from their bishops, and energetic
execution of these directives by both clergy and laity, will help limit
the spread of COVID-19 through the Coronavirus. It may also dispel some
of the lingering public suspicion about the Church’s alleged
indifference to science.