Not Going to Kiss the Live-Streamed Icon

So, what about Orthodox services makes them incompatible with live-streaming? There are a few aspects to this, and I will not attempt to cover them all at once. So, in this article, I will focus solely on one particular reason: physical presence is essential.

I asked my kids about this, that is, I asked what would be the good and bad side of watching an Orthodox service online. Very practically, they said such things as, "you could not venerate the icons", "you could not be anointed with holy oil", and chief among them all, "you could not take the Body and Blood" of Christ at the Eucharist.

I actually gave them a bit of a hard time about all this: why could you not venerate your icons at home while watching a service on the computer? Why could you not receive anointing with some of the holy oil we have on the icon corner? And their answer makes so much sense: if you are going to venerate your own icons at home and stand in front of them and pray, why do you need the live-stream video? Yes, that is just it. Just go to your icon corner and pray.

As for partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, that can only happen at church, at a consecrated altar, and served by a priest or bishop. So, if we are quarantined at home, no we cannot partake, but then again, that is not something that live-streaming solves.

I have not explained why physical presence is essential, or even what I fully mean by that, but that topic will roll around in due time.

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