This past weekend, social media was full of posts by joyous Orthodox Christians. For many, this was the first Sunday in months they had attended a mostly normal liturgy. Masks were gone, along with social distancing. Some Orthodox Christians reported the largest attendance at liturgies since mid-2020. It was heartwarming to read.

The welcome changes resulted from the CDC updating its guidelines. Those fully vaccinated against Covid no longer needed to wear masks. The CDC guidelines were implemented by different Orthodox jurisdictions and dioceses in two different ways. These two policy approaches could be summarized as “no masks” and “no masks for the vaccinated.” They are very different in their social and spiritual effects, even if they look similar on the surface. https://orthodoxreflections.com/vaccine-segregation-in-american-orthodoxy/

America is a secular nation in an increasingly secular world. Such is the “conventional wisdom.” Maybe that is true as a general trend, but faith still matters for quite a large segment of the population. A fact the secular world has noticed, and regularly exploits to its benefit. Which is why in the war against “vaccine hesitancy,” the vaccine stakeholders (Big Government, Big Tech, Big Pharma, and investors) are recruiting clergy and churches as marketing allies to increase vaccine uptake.
Vaccine stakeholders are counting on Christian leaders to convince their flocks to take the vaccine, usually casting it, implicitly or explicitly, as a “moral duty” to protect others. For Christian institutions, there is a lot of downside risk to this approach. As the current alarm over myocarditis in young, vaccinated men makes clear, we don’t really know much about the effects of these vaccines. These vaccines would not be the first to be withdrawn in history. There have been previous vaccine disasters that even affected presidential races. Any Christian organization or leader lending moral authority to encourage taking these vaccines will end up sharing the blame for anything that goes wrong. Not only in this world, but also the next.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-dangers-of-religiously-based-marketing-for-covid-vaccines/

How would following these public health directives relate to that Gospel? Overnight, it suddenly occurred to me — and I don’t know why it took me this long to figure it out — what it was that has nagged at me about obeying these public health directives. Obeying them, in fact, has been to disobey what Christ said Christians should do — if we don’t want to be one of the goats https://orthodoxreflections.com/truly-following-the-gospel-in-a-time-of-plague/

Any of you with politically unpopular positions need to realize that your church, your neighborhood, the Fed govt, and your local police are full of people who believe the same thing – you are not entitled to civil liberties because you are a dangerous, evil person. Entrapment is a real issue. Stay away from anyone pushing for illegal activity. Peaceful protest is moral and legal. Violence is neither of those things. If questioned, do NOT talk to police or federal agents. https://orthodoxreflections.com/for-your-safety-never-talk-to-police/

We had also to bear alone those ills with which they outraged us, and we had at the same time to sustain our part in those things which they either did to each other or suffered at each other’s hands; while we rejoiced deeply in that peace of Christ
https://orthodoxreflections.com/st-dionysius-paschal-encyclical-orthodox-faith-in-time-of-plague/

What role does addictive pride play in some of the worst Covid decisions? We've seen such pride bring down Protestant pastors, but is that addiction haunting our own Orthodox Church?
https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-most-deceptive-and-damning-addiction/

Given the peculiarities of Orthodoxy, our Orthodox revolutionaries have to be smarter than those in other “Christian” traditions. They must introduce changes slowly and incrementally. All the while, Orthodox revolutionaries must convince the “unenlightened” that nothing of any great importance is actually happening. In many ways, this stealth method of revolution is more dangerous than overtly challenging the existing norms as the potential opposition can’t decide if there is even a threat. Called a “revolution within the form,” this method of transforming historical institutions has been stunningly successful at winning the battle before most of the victims even notice they are under attack https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-orthodox-revolution-comes-to-st-barts/

Every death is different as well, both for the departing and those left behind, and some are harder than others.

In my experience, the dying often report visions of their parents or other loved ones who have died before them, looking happy or radiant. Sometimes the visions are heavenly and sometimes demonic. Relatives often tell me their dying loved one stares into the distance, seemingly oblivious to what may be happening around them. Secular medicine calls these experiences hallucinations. I believe they are a foretaste of the final destination of the soul. It is the demonic visions that I find troubling, and the dying process tends to be harder when this is the case. If the family is religious, I recommend a visit from a spiritual care provider. If they are Orthodox, I encourage Holy Confession and Communion with a priest. I do this regardless, but especially when there are unpleasant experiences during the dying process. https://orthodoxreflections.com/to-prevent-death-please-stop-living/

One of our contributors just posted an excellent summation of Orthodox Christology as a lengthy comment on this article:

https://orthodoxreflections.com/to-prevent-death-please-stop-living/#comment-983

On June 1st, LEGO joined other multi-billion dollar companies such as Disney in targeting children with LGBTQ propaganda. On that date, LEGO released a new set called “Everyone is Awesome.” The LEGO set consists of dolls in all colors of the LGBTQ rainbow plus light blue, white and pink to represent transgender people separately, and brown and black to include people of color.

Clearly, LGBTQ propaganda aimed at children is having a profound, generational effect on our society. The more we normalize and encourage LGBTQ behaviors, the more young people will engage in them. Discovering one’s “sexual identify” often involves choices and temptations that harm the young and the vulnerable. Rather than protecting our kids from such influences, we are increasingly throwing them to the corporate wolves.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/lego-is-promoting-lgbtq-propaganda-to-kids-you-should-be-concerned/

Our reaction to “conquer the virus” extended our battlefield across even people who just wanted to die peacefully. We failed these people.
Does it take a pandemic to learn that death is an unavoidable part of life?
https://orthodoxreflections.com/covid-19-was-the-perfect-lost-opportunity-for-palliative-care/

In his July 4th encyclical, Archbishop Elpidophoros was less than inspiring. His vague wording left us wondering what he really meant. After the Covid parish closures, His Eminence's praise of American religious freedom was particularly tone deaf.

https://orthodoxreflections.com/the-archbishops-exhortation-for-the-fourth-of-july/

So much of the Christian Faith was defended and explained during historical periods that Evangelicalism consciously avoids dealing with. This leaves Evangelicalism with no real understanding of even basic Christians beliefs. Which is a strange predicament for a group claiming to adhere to Christian “fundamentals.” Nor does Evangelicalism have even a tenuous historical connection to Christ and His Church. At this point, for me, it is an open question if Evangelicalism is a heretical “Christian” movement, or is it a totally separate religion?
https://orthodoxreflections.com/evangelicalism-and-inconvenient-christian-history/

By revisiting St. Bart’s, the archbishop emphasized his desire to grow closer to the Episcopal Church despite the repugnance of TEC’s promotion of the LGBTQ+ whatever-in-hell-turns-you-on agenda. That is the impression that one is left with.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/st-barts-redux/

To be fair, we have to wonder - should the words of Archbishop Elpidophoros be understood as a rejection of Orthodoxy or an indictment of political Islam? And, given the controversy, does it matter either way? In the end, there is probably no real difference in the impact of perceived heresy versus actual heresy. https://orthodoxreflections.com/did-archbishop-elpidophoros-espouse-heresy-at-the-religious-freedom-summit/

The Orthodox Church’s view of Heaven and Hell is very different from what most people in America are used to. The teaching on Hell that most know (or think they do) is of eternal punishment inflicted on sinners by an angry God. This teaching is frequently criticized on social media by atheists. To counter their criticism, I point them to the actual, authoritative teaching of the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/love-as-hell/

This week: A priest we highly respect predicted a schism. His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios (of Greece) published a scathing indictment of the state of the Church. The Orthodox Church census confirmed large membership changes. Our world is shifting.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/is-an-orthodox-reformation-coming/

This is a response from a Canadian Orthodox Christian to a recent encyclical from Archbishop Sotirios asserting that supporters of a single communion spoon are “pagan.” The full text of the encyclical in Greek and English is published below the response.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/shepherd-know-your-sheep-open-letter-to-archbishop-sotirios/

The situation in Canada with Archbishop Sotirios is so serious, that any post involving him spikes our visitors. Multiple spoons bothers so many Orthodox globally, any post on that spikes our visitors. Combined? Traffic is off the charts. Orthodox care.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/shepherd-know-your-sheep-open-letter-to-archbishop-sotirios/

Bishops often have, at most, a small group of trusted advisors to whom they listen. Sometimes only a chancellor playing the role of “gatekeeper.” When mistakes are made, they are rarely acknowledged and repented of. The goal is to just quietly “move on.”

His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrosios also said in his article, “Wherever there is Orthodoxy there are wounds.” That is true all over the globe. But despite those wounds, most of the hierarchy simply goes on with business as usual.
https://orthodoxreflections.com/orthodoxy-needs-communication-and-repentance/