{"id":12333,"date":"2020-06-05T07:37:30","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T14:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/?p=12333"},"modified":"2022-10-30T06:30:24","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T13:30:24","slug":"archbishop-many-spoons-elpidophoros-heresy-to-the-nth-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2020\/06\/archbishop-many-spoons-elpidophoros-heresy-to-the-nth-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"Archbishop “Many Spoons” Elpidophoros \u2013 Heresy to the Nth Degree?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Archbishop from Monomakhos Blog \u2013
\nIs heresy far behind? One would think so, because these directives indicate that we don\u2019t really<\/em> believe that the Chalice contains the real Body and Blood of Christ. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Archbishop Elpidophoros Lambrianides of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, implemented some significant changes to our Tradition. Troubling changes. Everything from how we commune, to how we venerate the icons, greet one another, engage in fellowship, to participating in Divine Liturgy has been modified.<\/p>\n

Though he specified these were \u201ctemporary\u201d changes, it\u2019s hard to understand why he would move forward with them now, after the lifting of the restrictions in the outside world. This leaves one to wonder if what we\u2019re seeing really is just \u201ctemporary\u201d. After all the hard work it took to draw up these directives, what\u2019s to say this isn\u2019t the \u201cthe new normal\u201d. Viruses aren\u2019t going to go away. <\/p>\n

communal spoon is to be replaced with multiple spoons<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We have listed some of the changes below (for the complete directive, please click on to the link below):<\/p>\n

Communion can only be offered to the faithful following the conclusion of a Divine Liturgy (which the laity will not attend[!]) and it must be done via appointment. Because appointments can only be made for individuals or families that have been living together for the duration of the lock-down, this would exclude any and all Orthodox family members who were previously quarantined elsewhere or are returning home after caring for another family member.<\/p>\n

\"ProsphoraH\u2019ors d\u2019oeuvres trays<\/em> will replace the communal basket of bread to discourage the touching of the antidoron, though there is little evidence to suggest the virus can be contracted this way.<\/p>\n

The doilies are a nice touch, perhaps we can get into the catering business?<\/em><\/p>\n

The communal spoon is to be replaced with multiple spoons and instead of venerating an icon with a kiss, we are told to bow or make a sign of the cross.<\/p>\n

The laity is to be excluded from attending Divine Liturgy, purportedly per the City of New York.\u00a0 Monomakhos is unaware of any New York City mandate restricting people from participating in the Liturgy, as this is the same as \u201cgoing to church\u201d for anyone else, but this was the explanation given by the Archdiocese for this rule.<\/p>\n

laity is to be excluded from attending Divine Liturgy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

We are to drop the kiss of peace we offer to one another in fellowship.\u00a0 In fact, there is to be no fellowship among the laity both in or outside the Church.<\/p>\n

The parish halls are to remain closed.\u00a0 At all times, the faithful must maintain social distancing.\u00a0 At the conclusion of their \u201cpersonal prayer time\u201d, the faithful are to exit the building and return directly to their vehicle without congregating or lingering.<\/p>\n

So, in addition to wearing masks, being sanitized and tracked, standing \u201cX\u201d number of feet away from each other, having to make appointments for communion, not sharing spoons, not venerating the icons with a kiss, and forfeiting fellowship both before and after services, we also cannot participate in the Divine Liturgy.<\/p>\n

No one in the history of Orthodox Church has worshiped this way EVER.<\/p>\n

No one in the history of Orthodox Church has worshiped this way EVER.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The entire thing flies in the face of our Holy Tradition: \u201cthat which is \u2018handed on\u2019 from one generation to another.\u00a0 In addition to the witness of Faith in the Scripture, the Orthodox Christian Faith is celebrated in the Eucharist; taught by the Fathers; glorified by the Saints; expressed in prayers, hymns, and icons; defended by the seven Ecumenical Councils; embodied in the Nicene Creed; manifested in social concern; and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is lived in every local Orthodox parish. The life of the Holy Trinity is manifested in every aspect of the Church\u2019s life and the Church, as a whole, is the guardian of the authentic Christian Faith which bears witness to that Revelation.\u201d\u00a0 https:\/\/www.goarch.org\/-\/teachings-of-the-orthodox-church<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The question now becomes this:\u00a0 Are we going to allow this or not?\u00a0\u00a0 At the very least, these new rubrics are a violation of the traditional Orthodox formula:\u00a0 \u201clex orandi, lex credendi<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is heresy far behind?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Is heresy far behind?\u00a0 One would think so, because these directives indicate that we don\u2019t really<\/i> believe that the Chalice contains the real Body and Blood of Christ.\u00a0 If it were, they wouldn\u2019t be turning themselves into pretzels to protect us from it and from the Church itself.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.monomakhos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/GOA-PREPARATION-FOR-OPENING-THE-CHURCHES-AND-HOLY-COMMUNION-1.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014
\nHT: Monomakhos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Archbishop<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

from Monomakhos Blog \u2013 Is heresy far behind? One would think so, because these directives indicate that we don\u2019t really believe that the Chalice contains the real Body and Blood of Christ. Archbishop Elpidophoros Lambrianides of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, implemented some significant changes to our Tradition. Troubling changes. Everything from how we commune, to how … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177,175,72,189],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-false-teachers","category-heresy","category-leftism","category-wokeodox"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}