www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Holy Communion - Single Use Spoons

Hello! I am a Roman-rite Catholic who has begun to fall in love with the Eastern Christian tradition and experience. I have been attending a Ruthenian-Byzantine rite parish, and the priest there is distributing Holy Communion via single use spoons (either wood or plastic) and then putting them in a glass bowl. Is this common? I understand Covid concerns, but it struck me as strange.

Christos Voskrese!

Is it common? During the pandemic yes. At my parish we use stainless steel spoons and wash them. Some use wooden spoons and burn them.

A spoon before, spoons now since Covid; why "strange"?

It IS strange, bizarre, and shows a complete lack of faith in God and a total trust in our lying government, who have used this scamdemic to terrorize people and control us.

https://http4281.wordpress.com/2020/03/28/whos-afraid-of-death-the-christian-church-is/

Dipping it in alcohol, a new spoon for each communicant.

And you don't see the difference in the "then" and "now?"

Sheeeeesh. You probably think it is vaccine they are giving these suckers instead of an experimental gene-modification therapy.

A lot of obtuse words here, but now, consider answering the question, emphasis being on the word "strange."

This is the practice at the parish I have been attending. I would imagine these things are done at the direction of the Eparchy.

Christ is in our midst!!

Forgive me for this comment. I understand that, given the pandemic, there is a serious issue with receiving Our Lord. However, at least steps are being taken to try to ensure the reverence due the Holy Gifts. I am attending a parish in the Latin Catholic Church this weekend where the Eucharist is distributed as you walk out the door. My daughter called and gave us a "heads up" so we wouldn't be taken by surprise. I still can't wrap my head around this.

Bob

All Catholic Bishops including the Byzantine, Ukrainian et al fell in line with their government paymasters
"like lambs being led to slaughter keeping their mouths shut" Isaiah

For 4 plus months they deprived We The Faithful of all Rites The Eucharist and the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.
After the "government" "allowed" Church services the first time that I received the Eucharist again back in September 2020
I received it at my Byzantine Church in a small paper cup like an Hors d'oeuvre at a cocktail party.

I told the Priest right in front of the congregation that dispensing The Eucharist this way IS A DISGRACE to Jesus Christ.
The following week The Eucharist was dispensed on individual wooden spoons that were later burned.
This method is the same still to this day.

I disagree with jvf. The bishops did not enact their COVID precautions to please some “government paymasters”. They did so in an over abundance of caution at a time when there were many unknowns. It’s true that in some states the bishops followed way over cautious closures. But here again the bishops acted out of an abundance of caution and not because some “government paymasters” somehow were going to withhold money.

Christ is in our midst!!

I think the bishops received a "bad rap." As John states, I think their concern was not only with souls but with bodies that could have been ravaged by this unknown disease. They, like all of us, were in completely uncharted waters. The best that science could come up with was a massive response to the flu, but Covid-19 demonstrated that it was not like the flu as we learned more about it. We also had the specter of the Black Plague to consider. Having a priest contract the disease and die was/is far more serious than one thinks in the near term. It takes many years to educate and replace a priest if he dies to an unknown pandemic disease. so protecting the clergy was as much a concern as protecting the laity.

That concern was surely justified in the beginning of this scam, but it didn't take six months for those of us who dug deep and did our research to find out the massive lies going on. By August of last year, they were all over the Internet, and the vile actions of the many governors who closed down churches while letting whorehouses and porno shops stay open made it clear to all that this was a large, hot stinkin' pile of manure of the worst sort.

Now that these lies are out there for everyone to see, our bishops should be in the forefront of blowing the whistle on this lie and warning people against the fraudulent "vaccine" that is killing people left and right. Yes, it is a very hard position to be a bishop, but this has always been true, especially when clowns, tyrants, and murderers are in governance. Look at the many bishops who gave their lives rather than bend the knee to tyrannical lies. It is almost as if the office comes with built in martyrdom.

Christ is in our midst!!

Bishops don't operate in a vacuum. They live in a hierarchy that makes them accountable to people in Rome, so to expect them to be bold and brave is asking a lot, IMHO. We only have to see a couple example posted here in the last couple years. There was a young bishop suddenly removed with no explanation awhile ago. There is Bishop Milan over ruled by the Vatican Congregation for making what he felt were prudent decisions about combining parishes. So I don't see bishops sticking their necks out like a St Athanasius or a St Nicholas.

As far as that goes, I am waiting to see how Rome reacts to the American bishops document on giving the Holy Eucharist--the Lord's Holy Body and Precious Blood--to people who, by their actions, have severed themselves from the communion of the Church. Will our bishops have to walk it back, will it be shelved for "further study," or will Rome ask that it be sent for study and never be seen again?

I understand, yet the history of the Church shows that to be a bishop is indeed be in line for martyrdom of some sort. We - laity and clergy alike - seem to have forgotten our Lord's warning that true faith will come at a cost, sometimes quite severe, as the believers in Russia found out in the 20th century and the believers in China are experiencing even now.

Question: are you really accountable to Rome if Rome goes off the rails? At what point would a bishop be justified in saying "This is a bridge too far." ?

Christ is in our midst!!

It's my understanding that a bishop takes an oath/vow at his ordination of obedience to the Pope. There does not seem to be room for an Athanasius to step out. From what I have been taught, a bishop has a choice: follow or resign.