Is the Church truly less essential than a laundromat?
Live streaming the services does not impart God’s grace in the same way the Mystical Supper imparts God’s grace. Christ’s Church is an essential institution far beyond a drug store or gas station, yet we continue to allow the government to tell us this is not so. How can the Church ever reclaim her position as the grace-imparting institution founded by Christ Himself, while allowing the government to declare us a non-essential service?
Is the forced shutdown of our public services really about a virus, or is it something more? Looking at the actual deaths directly related to the coronavirus is not any different than a serious flu epidemic, yet certain elements within our society would have us believe it is indeed a direct threat to the whole of our society, and even the world. Not even the communist revolution was able to declare the Church as a non-essential institution.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Wednesday August 19, 2020 / August 6, 2020
11th Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Fast. Fish Allowed
The Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Second “Feast of the Saviour” in August).
New Hieromartyrs Dimitry (Lyubimov), archbishop of Gdov (1938) and Priest Nicholas Prozorov (1930), priest Andrew (Zimin), priest Sergius (Tikhomirov), Domnik, Lidia and Mary (Zimins).
New Martyr Abbacum of Thessalonica (1628).
St. Theoctistus, bishop of Chernigov (1123).
The Scripture Readings
Jesus Transfigured on the Mount
28 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
2 Peter 1:10-19
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Peter’s Approaching Death
12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my death.
The Trustworthy Prophetic Word
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
Rev Tryphon,
I love your posts and am so very appreciative of your perspectives and spiritual guidance. I am a physician and am very worried by the statistics that you shared today and very worried that, given how admired and trusted you are, people will begin to take this situation less seriously – not in the setting of church and receiving the sacred sacraments which we know IS essential, but in terms of their lives and any faith they had in local government. Per year we have around 34,000 deaths from the flu in the US give or take and in the last 6 months we have had 172,000 deaths in the US from coronavirus. I have seen the carnage first hand. It is truly devastating. Not anything like the seasonal flu. I very much hope you will consider revisiting your statistics or reviewing and, at least, providing some references for your statistics for the general public/ your loving followers. In Christ, Sasha
Blessed Feast !
I am so grateful that in FL., our governor declared churches essential.
We have had services throughout and never closed our doors.
Thank you for your wisdom, love and efforts to help nourish us.
I appreciate you.
Father Bless!!!
Blessed and Happy Holy Transfiguration Feast Day!!!
Totally agree with you father. Even if they try to make up numbers as in total cases ect… the fact remains that 98% of people who contract the disease will survive. It’s interesting that casinos and abortion clinics are essential but heaven forbid for the faithful to go to church and sing.
I hope our youth wakes up and sees for what this is. Hypocrisy and control.
As in any flu season we all need to be vigilant in our hand washing and stay home if sick!!!!
Thank you father for always inspiring me to become a better and transformed orthodox christian.
Love in Christ
Vera
Dear Abbot Tryphon,
I read your blogs everyday . this country is already in such a state of confusion about how to behave during this real health crisis that I am stunned at your assessment of our situation. This is not just another flu as you must know. It is putting our health workers (hospitals and docters) at great risk not only in the US but around the globe. We Orthodox Christians need your prayers and support in our efforts to keep ourselves and those around us from contacting this viral illness by the limited means we have. We need to be encouraged to wear masks and keep a distance from one another in brotherly love without resentment and anger . Instead we have confusion and conspiricy theories….a leader who is unable to lead …Metropolitan Hillarion from Optima spoke to people at the begging of this crisis telling them to stay home and make home churches and pray with their families until it was safe to come together again.
God keep us all,
Ariadne
Father bless!
Thank you for these wonderful writings. I look forward to them every morning in my Inbox. I can always take something away from them to think about during the day and today is no exception. But today I feel very unsettled about something you’ve written.
I understand that the thrust of your article is that the government doesn’t consider the Church an essential service; that there are dark forces at work to keep the church from conducting services. However, I fear that what you’ve written at the end of your article will be what people take away from it. You write, “Looking at the actual deaths directly related to the coronavirus is not any different than the average flu epidemic in this country, yet certain elements within our society would have us believe it is indeed a direct threat to the whole of our society, and even the world.” I ask for your forgiveness, Father, but Covid 19 is much more serious than the flu because we have no immunity to it. Comparing the number of deaths from Covid 19 to the flu is terribly misleading. Many more interventions are occurring in our hospitals for this virus than are done for the flu. If your statement regarding the number of deaths is true it’s only because the medical profession all over the world is pulling out all the stops. Self isolation, physical distancing, masks, school closures, business closures…unprecedented steps are being taken to control the spread of this virus. You don’s see any of these steps taken for the annual flu. All of these measures are helping to keep the number of deaths down. Without them the numbers would be very different
As I said before, I know this wasn’t the thrust of your article but it’s the “lasting taste” of it which is very unfortunate and perhaps even dangerous.
I respect and look up to you pray that God will grant you many more years.
The authorities are definitely taking advantage of this crisis to harass the Church in America. You can march, riot and loot shoulder to shoulder and be handled with kid gloves (if you’re handled at all) but the godless profligates in the government won’t allow corporate worship.
Father, Bless.
I must confess that when I see the sort of public gatherings (and I’m being polite) that the authorities in our large cities are allowing, I am growing increasingly skeptical of the reasons behind these restrictions. To say the least, we must remain vigilant.
Kissing Your Right Hand,
Adam Sheehan
Peoria, IL
Father bless! I think you might take heart from the situation in Texas–our St. Constantine and Helen church has been open for quite a while now–100 people/week are allowed to reserve a spot (and they do). Fortunately, all are wearing masks and all are keeping 6-9 feet apart. Our Parish Council and Clergy have worked hard to make us feel safe. People sing (behind their masks) and the choir, though much reduced, is doing an excellent job of leading us. For those who are more vulnerable, all services are also available online.
One other note–our eldest son is an ER doctor and is obviously on the frontlines. For his (and others’ safety), I hope people will do all they can to reduce the spread of this terrible virus. It’s a small inconvenience, really, to wear a mask and be mindful of social distancing. None of us really knows how our bodies would react to this. We are in our 70’s and have no underlying health conditions. But, our son says–you’re very vulnerable by age alone. I’ve seen statistics saying people our age may be 40x more likely to get very sick. Even if we might not die–who wants to be in a hospital for a long time?
In Christ’s Love!
bless father hegumen:
i offer the following in response. i have lived through the pandemics of 1957, 1968, 2009 and 2020. the first two pandemics targeted the youth while the second targeted the elderly. coupled with the 1957 pandemic was polio. i remember taking the vaccine on a sugar cube. i do not recall schools being shut down, churches being closed. all of God’s children created in His image and likeness make choices. i chose and i teach my souls to not be paralyzed by the contagion of fear and to be hopeful and optimistic the our Resurrected Lord shall guide us through the graces of The Holy Ghost. please have a good day father. peace and good. father john
Thank you for this post Father. Many of us share your concerns and questions. I respect the seriousness of the disease but the government response to it is another matter altogether. There definitely appears to be a double standard as to what is considered essential. With an aging and ill parent, i can appreciate taking every effort possible to keep our vulnerable populations safe, but also holding our leaders to account where they have failed miserably. Long term care in my area has been a disaster. When the dust finally settles we may acquire a reasonable understanding and a right view on this pandemic. In the meantime, I pray our actions to be guided by God – always by Love and not fear.