OCU cleric holds Communion via video conferencing
OCU cleric Igor Savva. Photo: facebook.com/ Igor Savva
On May 11, 2020, Igor Savva, rector of the Zaporizhzhia community of Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia, a former UOC priest who was banned from the priesthood, wrote on his Facebook page that under quarantine in connection with the coronavirus, he holds Communion for his parishioners via video conferencing.
“Since the beginning of quarantine, we have been serving liturgies online. To make up for the lack of communion, we talked about spiritual communion (because it is actually not material), tried to deliver spare gifts to the parishioners, but this is not always available to everyone.
All this time I’ve been thinking why it is impossible to make the online liturgy full. We pray that this bread and this wine become the Body and Blood of Christ and make us part of Him so that we become His Body. Doesn't this prayer "work" from a distance? Maybe radio waves (WiFi) or the use of gadgets is an obstacle to our unification around Christ, His life-giving Body and Blood?” writes the OCU representative.
He goes on to describe the “amazing experience of a full liturgy with communion using the Hangouts video conferencing program”: “Each of the worshipers prepared bread, wine and water in front of the monitor. We served the liturgy of John Chrysostom, in turn reading and singing the following parts. The consecration of the Gifts took place in the same way as during the worship in the temple. All participants communed, each in their own home. It was an amazing and inspiring service.”
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