Posted on 03/06/2020 12:53:18 PM PST by lightman
BUCHAREST The Press office of the Romanian Patriarchate published a communiqué, in the context of extensive media coverage of the coronavirus (Covid 19) and following requests from some state institutions that the Church should take measures to prevent the spread of the virus and to reduce the populations fear of this phenomenon.
Believers who are afraid of virus transmission may temporarily refrain from kissing the holy icons in the churches. They can exceptionally ask the priest to use their own spoon for the Holy Communion, says the announcement by the Church while adding that these are exceptional measures taken only because of the threat of an epidemic.
Following the uproar over this announcement, Romanian Patriarch Daniel made a written statement clarifying that by making this choice, the Church does not accept that any disease can be transmitted through Holy Communion but simply gives a choice to those whose faith is weak.
The statement reads as follows:
The communiqué addressed especially those who are too afraid of illness when they kiss the holy icons or when they take Communion from the same Holy Eucharistic Chalice, as the priest uses a collective spoon.
This attention given especially to those whose faith is weak (Romans 14: 1) has caused fear elsewhere, more precisely among clerics and believers who consider that an exceptional and temporary measure (economy) in favour of those more frightened and weaker in faith can be transformed into a new liturgical rule of receiving Holy Communion that applies to all believers.
In order to overcome polarization and polemics that weaken Orthodox unity, hasty judgments must be avoided, and we must firmly reaffirm the Orthodox belief that the Holy Eucharist is not and can never be a source of sickness and death, but a source of new life in Christ, of forgiveness of sins, for the healing of the soul and the body.
That is why, while believers receive Holy Communion, we chant: Receive the Body of Christ, taste the Fountain of Immortality.
Therefore, the rule of distributing Holy Communion to the clergy and believers from the same Holy Chalice remains unchanged, and the priests will explain to all believers that this way of partaking of the Eucharist has never been for anyone a danger and will not be to them either.
The believers, who are still afraid of partaking of the same Holy Chalice with the same spoon, will ask the counsel of their spiritual father to strengthen their faith and increase in Church communion.
Also, in the case of kissing the holy icons, the believers who have a strong and living faith are not afraid that they will become ill, but they enjoy the prayer and the blessing of the saints depicted in the icons.
As faith unites freedom with love, it is through faith that people express their love of God and His saints freely.
For this reason, Orthodox believers kiss holy icons and freely partake of the Holy Chalice, not because they would be compelled to do so.
Therefore, the ministers of the Holy Altars will urge all believers to strengthen themselves in the faith and cultivate the Eucharistic Communion in the Church, to gain salvation through the union with Christ the Lord, the source of eternal life (John 11:25).
We wish all servants of the Holy Altars and believers of the Romanian Orthodox Church good health and salvation, as well as much help from God during this Great Lent, as a progress to the light and joy of the Resurrection.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Romania
Save Thy people, O Lord,
and bless Thine inheritance.
Grant victory to Thy Church over her enemies,
and protect Thy people by Thy Holy Cross!
Keep a Good Lent!
.......................... "My children, keep yourselves from the worship of idols."
- Apostle John
Chapter and verse from Scripture??
Not on veneration per se,
“Christ is the image (Greek, ikon) of the invisible God”
—Colossians 1:14
Yes, but no justification of any difference between veneration and worship...
One would have a hard time in Bible times explaining kneeling before a statue and praising the entity it represented in the unseen world, beseeching such for Heavenly help, and making offerings to them, and giving glory and titles and ascribing supernatural attributes to such which are never given in Scripture to created beings (except to false gods), including having the uniquely Divine power glory to hear and respond to virtually infinite numbers of prayers individually addressed to them.
Moses, put down those rocks! I was only engaging in hyper dulia, not adoring her. Can't you tell the difference?
Which manner of "adulation" could constitute worship in Scripture (Words for worship in the NT), yet Catholics imagine that by playing word games then they can avoid crossing the invisible line between mere "veneration" and worship.
And despite the Spirit inspiring the recording of about 200 prayers in the Bible, and of this being a most basic practice, the only prayers or offerings in Scripture to anyone else in Heaven is by pagans, including to the only Queen of Heaven see therein, by souls who were as adamant as many Catholics in defending their blasphemous practice:
As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes... (Jeremiah 44:16-17)
It should be kept in mind that my objection is not to Mary being honored as the holy chosen vessel to bring forth Christ, but to the excess ascriptions, appelations, exaltation, and adoration (and the manner of exegesis behind it), ascribed to the Catholic Mary, whether officially or by Catholics (with implicit sanction of authority). And which presumes that bowing down to a statute and attributing to the person it represent attributes and glory that are uniquely ascribed to God/Christ in Scripture, including the power to hear in Heaven incessant multitudinous mental prayers addressed to them from earth and respond to them, and imploring such for heavenly aid, would be understood and vindicated as merely being "hyperdulia," and not "latria" (which Rome states is the manner of adoration reserved for God).
Note that many Catholic Marian attributions much parallel even that of Christ :
*****
Context is your friend in understanding Scripture.
Context in Greek is an even better friend, as is context in a history that evidently stretches back to the Apostles.
Playing these sorts of games with Latins is one thing, but on an Orthodox thread it is sort of like trying to pitch the fvitrues of Castro to Miami Cubans.
No Cigar.
Same argument made by the Latins.
Be it Orthodox or Latin, context is still the proper way to understand Scripture. And yes, even in the Greek context is still the proper way to understand Scripture.
And be it the Latins or the Orthodox, Scripture remains the only infallible collection of writings we have.
Because Paul and the Apostles dressed like this. Please.
Greek was the working language in Rome until late 4th century—Jerome is one of the ones who helped with the liturgical switch under Pope Damasus.
Irenaeus evangelizing Lyons in the second wrote in Greek.
Africa was the first place anyone did serious theology or liturgy in Latin—the Latin Church is aware at some level that it is slightly more removed culturally from the origins than the Greeks are.
Many of the liturgical garment retain the names of the ancient garments that they are derived from. The embroidery is a little fancier than was common back then, but yes, if one studies liturgical things one can discover first century roots.
Personally I hold scripture to be inspired and inerrant. If you wish to down grade it to infallible, who am I to judge?
I have no problems with those descriptions of Scripture.
But let's see how the Spirit moved Paul to write:
16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:1617 NASB
Yep. Was just reading about the Vulgate in my History of the Bible class.
Many of the liturgical garment retain the names of the ancient garments that they are derived from. The embroidery is a little fancier than was common back then, but yes, if one studies liturgical things one can discover first century roots.
Yeah...I'm sure Paul rolled into town dressed this way.
He looks like a cultic shaman.
“Believers who are afraid of virus transmission may temporarily refrain from kissing the holy icons in the churches”
I was in Bucharest about 10 years ago. Friend kissed the mummified finger of a dead ‘saint’.
What do you do with that?
*****
Try to share the Gospel with them.
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