At the session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church held on August 25, 2020, a Message was adopted to the episcopate, clergy, monastics and laity in connection with the harmful pestilence that has come upon us this year (Minutes No. 45).
Giving praise to the Merciful God, Who maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. 5:45), the Church prays earnestly for the final deliverance of people from the harmful pestilence that has come upon us this year. The Holy Synod calls on bishops, clergy, monastics and laity not to slacken in this prayer and to ask the Almighty Lord to grant His help to all who labor to overcome the calamity that has befallen the world. It is also the sacred duty of Orthodox Christians to pray for the repose of those who have died of the coronavirus infection and its consequences. With special grateful love let us remember those clergy and laity, especially doctors, who died fulfilling their duty to the end and, in the words of the Gospel, laid down their life for their friends (cf. John 15:13).
Reflecting on the causes of the calamity that has visited us, we must maintain Christian sobriety, caution and discernment. Yes, the sorrows that visit individuals and whole nations are sometimes the result of human communities rejecting God’s saving protection. According to the testimony of the holy Apostle Paul, all the misfortunes that befall creation have as their first cause the fall of our first parents, as a result of which “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:22). However, it is also wrong to think that human suffering is necessarily connected with personal sin. “Those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?” — with these words the Savior responded to the news of the calamity that had befallen the Holy City (Luke 13:4), reminding us that God’s judgments are often hidden from us for a time. The apostle warns against hasty and immature judgments, which almost always lead to people proudly accusing one another, calling Christians to await in humility the revelation of the fullness of God’s judgments on the day of Christ’s Second Coming: “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1 Cor. 4:5).
Nevertheless, every crisis that arises in human history allows us to reassess our habitual way of life and rethink the motivation of our actions. Let everyone who bears the name of Christ heed the words of St. Ignatius the God-bearer: “For God’s sake we must endure all things, that He also may endure us. Be more diligent than you are. Consider the times. Look for Him Who is above time — the timeless, the invisible, Who for our sake became visible; the impalpable, the impassible, Who for our sake became subject to suffering, Who endured all things for our sake” (Epistle to Polycarp, ch. 3).
We see how fragile and unreliable is the comfort so cherished by modern civilization. Enjoying the gifts of God’s mercy and the prosperity sent down by the Creator, we are, sadly, inclined to carelessness. The events of this year have in many ways testified to such carelessness. How unfounded human self-confidence can be!
It is gratifying to see that during the epidemic most of the children of our Church showed themselves worthy of the name of disciples of the Lord Jesus, preserving faithfulness to the truth of the Gospel with magnanimous patience and caring for those near and far, as befits fulfillers of the law of Christ who bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). The pastors and children of our Church understood that a careless attitude toward one’s own health, which may seem to be exclusively a personal matter, could in these days result in the suffering and death of other people. Many Orthodox Christians preferred responsibility for the life and health of their neighbors to recklessness and self-confidence. They fearlessly fulfilled their duty, setting aside their own wishes and habitual way of life, and understanding that the precautions taken during services in no way diminish our faith in the efficacy of God’s Providence and the holiness of the sacraments of the Church, and of the most important of them — the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.
A special trial for Orthodox Christians was the restriction of the laity’s access to public worship and even the impossibility of visiting churches. This circumstance prompts all of us to reflect anew on the significance in our lives of worship in church — the common prayer of the gathering of Christ’s disciples. We must treasure this gift of the Lord and value every opportunity to enter beneath the sacred roof of the house of God. Yes, the celebration of the Divine Eucharist did not cease even in the absence of most of the flock under the vaults of our churches. Yes, broadcasts of services on the Internet or television and the publication of the texts of liturgical rites were able to some extent to ease the burden of Orthodox Christians’ confinement to their homes and became a certain consolation for them. However, according to the testimony of many, the podvig of exclusively home prayer proved to be very difficult. It is obvious that broadcasts can in no way substitute for personal participation in worship, not to mention that no technical means allow a Christian to participate in most of the sacraments of the Church, and especially in the most important of them — the Divine Eucharist. The personal presence of the apostles in the upper room of the Mystical Supper — this is the irrevocable Gospel norm for remembering the life-giving death of Christ and confessing His Resurrection in the sacrament of His Body and Blood. This norm can never, under any circumstances, be forgotten by us.
The substantial restriction of people’s participation in worship was unprecedented in the personal experience of the vast majority of our episcopate, clergy and laity. Understanding that the new threat humanity faced could have grave consequences that were difficult to foresee in full, and conscious of its responsibility for the life and health of countless people, the Church shared with the whole people the burdens caused by the spread of the harmful pestilence and called upon her children to refrain for a time from their customary way of participating in liturgical life. However, such a decision, taken in exceptional historical circumstances, cannot become some new norm. Freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, provided for by the legislation of most countries, including the right of believers to participate together in worship even in exceptional circumstances, must remain inviolable.
The concern of many Christians, as well as people of various other convictions, about the possible further use of the methods by which the necessary reduction in personal contacts between people was ensured during the epidemic appears largely justified. The use of digital identifiers, automated decision-making that may lead to the infringement of the rights of individuals and whole communities, the extensive collection of personal data, including health information, and the processing of such data — all this requires oversight by society, including by the Church as a public institution. The possible dangers associated with the development of technologies for recording and processing personal data have repeatedly been pointed out by the Councils of Bishops of our Church, and in particular by the Council of Bishops of 2013.
Looking back over the past months, we emphasize that no cacophony of opinions, news and rumors, nor the differences of opinion inevitable in the modern world, should tear apart the robe of Christ — His Church. Reflections on the causes of various events in the world, joyful or sorrowful, and discussions among Christians presuppose not an exchange of grievances, not setting some against others, and still less sowing enmity and schism, but mutual help, a common search for the course of action of the Church and her children in the circumstances at hand, a readiness to hear and understand one another, and above all to heed the conciliar voice of the Church.
The anti-epidemic measures determined by the Holy Synod must continue to be observed as applicable to local circumstances. Attention should also be given to the resumption of classes in church educational institutions and Sunday schools, the start of the school year in which may in some cases be postponed by decision of the ruling bishops depending on the epidemic situation and taking into account the decisions of state authorities regarding the start of the school year in secular educational institutions.
We pray for the repose of all who did not survive the illness and its consequences. We thank the Right Reverend archpastors, clergy and laity who in these difficult days did not abandon their labors for the glory of the Triune God. May the Lord reward you all for your zeal in glorifying His Holy Name, for your love for His Church and for divine services, and for your active help to your neighbors. We address special words of gratitude to medical and social workers, law enforcement officers, municipal employees, utility workers, volunteers and many, many other brothers and sisters of ours who eased the suffering of the sick and cared for those who could not care for themselves.
May God’s blessing be with us all!