So short thing before hand, I am Coptic Orthodox we have priests (who are married) and we see them for lots of things Confession, advice, help, all sorts of problems we also attend something called Divine Liturgy which is about 3 hours long (Mantis and then the service itself). So I went to see him today and one of the things I asked him is if I had to wear a mask at Liturgy (we are in orange county florida and there is still a mask mandate for us) some how this conversation turned into a discussion about the vaccine. And even he isn't going to be taking it he said it has nothing to do with religious reasons just he hasn't seen good things from it. Meaning lots of side effects from people (bad ones).
I spoke to one of my friends who is also Coptic and he said at his own parish that a lot of people especially the elderly will wear a mask just to enter the church but eventually during the service they will take it off and put it to the side. I think this really goes to show that a lot of people are completely fed up with the masks, my friend said the only people who believe in the mask is the government.
As for at my parish unfortunately I still have to wear it because Abouna (this is what we call our priests) said he can't make special exceptions because then everyone will want to take it off. I tried to tell him how a big part of the Liturgy in the incense it kind of mentally draws you in and how difficult it is to smell it, to which he said he could smell it just fine I said that is because he is the one censing the Church!
Thanks for sharing the encouraging story! I personally am looking to return to services after close to 30 years away (lol) and one of the main things on my mind is masks at service. I will not be participating, and was just thinking this morning about how I'm going to go about finding a church not requiring the, or offering outdoor service (also in Florida).
As for your story... Time to tell the Abourna that the incense is clinging to your mask and giving you debilitating migraines, almost to the point of suicidal thoughts.
I bet God would get a chuckle out of it at least. ?
I think you might find some Protestant churches that are more willing to go against the mask mandate but with the Copts most of the priests are born in Egypt and then migrate here, so I think one of the reasons is they don't want to get their immigration revoked and then kicked back to Egypt so they are a little more cautious, another thing is Abouna doesn't see wearing a mask during service as going against God (they have been subjected to way worse persecution and still followed the government law).
I am not sure about what you mean on the incense part as I love the smell of it but with the mask I can't smell it at all which is a crime it feels.
Thanks for the info. I'm mostly letting my wife make this decision, as she has more experience with organized Church, and many good experiences with different congregations. Technically, she's Protestant, so we'll probably lean that way.
The incense thing was a joke. ? I know of people who get excruciating migraines from perfume. Thought you could say that if the smoke was clinging to your mask fibres, it was making you sick. Medical exemption joke. Doesn't sound like it'll work though.
God Bless!