Met Soterios of Canada says those who want return to One Spoon are Pagans

[BasilCan]

June-July 2021 Viewpoint | Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Canada (gometropolis.org)

 

[BasilCan]

Currently the parishes of the GO Archdiocese in Canada must use multiple spoons during Holy Communion. This despite the fact that there is no evidence one can get COVID from sharing a utensil. I won't even get into the Body and Blood of Christ point and the Orthodox Bobo's

 

[Dominika]

I do not worship The One Spoon. I worship Christ of Whose Body and Blood this spoon contains. If the Life Creator and Life Giver may cause disease and the reason is not my sin, than I am a Pagan.

 

[hecma925]

Currently the parishes of the GO Archdiocese in Canada must use multiple spoons during Holy Communion. This despite the fact that there is no evidence one can get COVID from sharing a utensil. I won't even get into the Body and Blood of Christ point and the Orthodox Bobo's

Bobo's?

 

[Tzimis]

Currently the parishes of the GO Archdiocese in Canada must use multiple spoons during Holy Communion. This despite the fact that there is no evidence one can get COVID from sharing a utensil. I won't even get into the Body and Blood of Christ point and the Orthodox Bobo's

This was mandated by the Canadian government. I see you're also a little confused about the mystery of the flesh and blood.

 

[BasilCan]

This was NOT mandated by the Canadian government. This is a fake news. At the height of the paranoia last spring, when the government was closing everything down, some Greek Toronto parishioners complained to the city that sharing a spoon did not follow the safety protocols. The city did not insist that only one spoon be used. Of all the Orthodox Churches in Toronto (or Canada for that matter) only the Greeks and some OCA parishes did this.

 

[BasilCan]

Beware the Orthodox Bobo's
Beware of the Orthodox Bobos / OrthoChristian.Com

 

[Saxon]

I have an old university acquaintance - highly progressive-leaning - whose family are long-time and highly influential members of a certain Greek parish here in southern Ontario. The priest at this parish continued to deliver Holy Communion with a communal spoon well into the pandemic, with the support of the majority of the congregation, so this individual and her family made a huge show of opposition on social media, making long-winded and derogatory Facebook posts which, of course, met with huge approval from non-Orthodox friends who likely have no concept of what the issue even was. They also reported the priest to the local public health unit and by-law enforcement. I tuned out and have no idea what the eventual outcome was, and after a brief search just now, noticed that the posts from roughly last summer or so have now been deleted.

As for this pronouncement appearing as an official communication of the Greek Archdiocese here, maybe they should be a little more concerned about sound financial management which, in the future, will mitigate having to sell off church properties in the GTA. Utensils seems a bit trivial by comparison.

 

[Shanghaiski]

Curious the Canadian archdiocese is doing this still when the American archdiocese was rebuked for it by Constantinople and returned to one spoon.

 

[Tzimis]

This was NOT mandated by the Canadian government. This is a fake news. At the height of the paranoia last spring, when the government was closing everything down, some Greek Toronto parishioners complained to the city that sharing a spoon did not follow the safety protocols. The city did not insist that only one spoon be used. Of all the Orthodox Churches in Toronto (or Canada for that matter) only the Greeks and some OCA parishes did this.

You are wrong.

COVID-19 INFORMATION
GUIDANCE FOR PLACES OF WORSHIP

5
alberta.ca/BizConnect ©2021 Government of Alberta | Updated: April 2021

 It is strongly recommended that food and beverage items not be placed
directly into the mouths of people. Wherever possible, have the faith leader
use tongs to place the bread into the hands of the congregant instead.
 If, for religious reasons, the faith leader must place food into the mouth of
the congregant directly (e.g., communion), it is strongly recommended the
faith leader wear a face mask and perform hand hygiene before and after
providing service to each congregant.
 Congregants should not share drink containers or utensils (e.g., spoon,
plates, chalice, cups, etc.).

Link: https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/2be...nch-guidance-places-of-worship-2021-04-06.pdf

 

[Asteriktos]

NVM!

 

[Katechon]

You are wrong.

COVID-19 INFORMATION
GUIDANCE FOR PLACES OF WORSHIP

5
alberta.ca/BizConnect ©2021 Government of Alberta | Updated: April 2021

 It is strongly recommended that food and beverage items not be placed
directly into the mouths of people. Wherever possible, have the faith leader
use tongs to place the bread into the hands of the congregant instead.
 If, for religious reasons, the faith leader must place food into the mouth of
the congregant directly (e.g., communion), it is strongly recommended the
faith leader wear a face mask and perform hand hygiene before and after
providing service to each congregant.
 Congregants should not share drink containers or utensils (e.g., spoon,
plates, chalice, cups, etc.).

Link: https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/2be...nch-guidance-places-of-worship-2021-04-06.pdf

The province of Alberta isn't "the Canadian government" though is it?

 

[Ainnir]

Knock it off, Tzimis and Katechon. Take it to Politics if you need to. --Ainnir

 

[BasilCan]

So I called a priest friend (not Greek ) in Calgary and he said they interpreted the word "Should" as a recommendation, rather than "Must" which is a mandate. He said those that don't like sharing a spoon (or being near people) haven't come to church since COVID started. Besides, their parish is small so not on the radar.

I guess I should be clearer on what my point is/was. One or more Communion spoons may seem like a small issue to outsiders. You may want to call it a liturgical change (as one spoon has not always been how communion has been distributed to the faithful during the history of the church). The issue, as I see it as is follows:
1) We Orthodox hate liturgical change and often see any change as a challenge or change to our faith (think Old Believers schism in Russia)
2) Some feel, by requiring multiple spoons we are questioning what Holy Communion is or represents. Others feel using multiple spoons is just extra safety or the local parish council is afraid of being fined for not following safety protocols
3) The big "Elephant in the Nave" really is the divisions within the Canadian Greek Church. At one end the secular Hellenists that see the GOC has the protector of Greek culture and at the other end the fundamentalist Ephraimite Greeks who see the GOC as too compromising to the Canadian secular culture. In between is the torn majority. To add to this is the fact that Met Soterios is a divisive and strong leader and few people don't have a passionate opinion about him (pro or against). Met Soterios by calling some of his people "pagans" has just added to this division.

 

[Dominika]

@BasilCan thank you for the 3rd point, as it's an explanation of the background that seems to be very important there.

Myself, I remember I've enjoyed reading Orthodoxo Catechism of metropolitan Sotirios some years ago.