For those who watch our services online, especially the Divine Liturgy, you may have noticed that we quietly rolled out a new policy: to stop streaming the Liturgy after the children’s sermon.
Though our viewership isn’t large, a few people have asked about this change, so I thought I’d address it directly here.
Regular viewers, or readers of my sermons, know that I’ve been teaching about the Divine Liturgy. I had several goals in mind for that sermon series, the most important of which was to prepare everyone for our new streaming policy. I did this by raising some concerns about streaming and demonstrating the importance of attending the Liturgy in person.
Now that the series has ended, and we have begun to limit our streaming, I think a more direct explanation is in order.
The first reason I have adopted this new policy is historical. In ancient times, after the Gospel reading and the sermon, the church prayed for the catechumens. We have restored part of that litany, but not all of it. The part we continue to leave out (though some Orthodox Churches still pray it) is this:
“Those who are catechumens, depart; catechumens, depart; all those who are catechumens, depart. Let none of the catechumens remain.”
This was the indication that catechumens were to leave the service, and the end of the “public” portion of Liturgy. It’s my understanding that the catechumens didn’t go home, though. They retreated to another building (or room) to be instructed in the faith.
Today, before the Creed, we hear the deacon say, “The doors! The doors! In wisdom, let us be attentive!” Historically, this was an instruction for the deacons and subdeacons to make sure the catechumens (and those who weren’t Christians) had left the service. After they had done this, they literally closed the doors and guarded them—no one was admitted to the service after this point. This is an ancient part of the Liturgy, as attested by the 4th-century Apostolic Constitutions (Book 8:11).
St. John Chrysostom had this to say about the exclusion of non-Christians and the closing of the doors:
“We celebrate the mysteries with closed doors and keep out the uninitiated, not that we have convicted our rites of any weakness, but that many are still imperfectly prepared for them” (Homily 74 on Matthew 23:3).
In the 7th century, St. Maximus the Confessor also wrote about this. In Mystagogy 15, he interprets the command “The doors! The doors!” as symbolizing the guarding of the senses, which must be closed off from the distractions and temptations of the world. This act of guarding the doors represents the need to focus inwardly, closing off the mind from external, worldly distractions and preparing it for the spiritual realities that are about to be encountered in the Eucharistic celebration.
He explains that just as the physical doors of the church are closed to prevent the uninitiated from entering during the most sacred part of the Liturgy, so too must the “doors” of the soul (the senses) be closed to prevent any impure thoughts or distractions from entering. This inner focus is necessary to fully participate in the divine mysteries and to enter into communion with God.
This brings me to the second reason I have decided to restrict the streaming of the second half of the Divine Liturgy. The Eucharist and the prayers that precede it are the most intimate experiences one can have with God. It is, literally, communion with Christ.
I often compare this to marriage. In fact, St. Maximus does as well. In Mystagogy 15, he describes entering into this part of the Divine Liturgy as the “nuptial chambers of Christ.” In a marriage, the most intimate part is the marriage bed—a communion between the couple when the two become one. None of us could imagine inviting outsiders to watch this act. So, if the Liturgy is just as intimate—if not more so—why would we invite outsiders to watch via streaming?
The final reason I thought it was best to stop the stream after the children’s sermon is that we must be true to what we say. Right before communion, we recite a pre-communion prayer, which says:
“O Son of God, receive me today as a partaker of Your mystical supper. For I will not speak of the mystery to Your enemies…”
The “mystery,” of course, is communion, the Divine Liturgy. If we pray a prayer saying that we will not reveal the mysteries, how can we stream them? In good conscience, I don’t think we can.
Of course, this does raise pastoral issues. What about those who are traveling? What about those who can’t make it on a particular Sunday? What about those who are shut-ins?
Well, first of all, no one can commune through a computer screen. So, no one will be “missing out” by not watching others commune. And, if you think about it, this isn’t a new problem. The Church, for 2,000 years, has had shut-ins. One of the original roles of the deacons and deaconesses was to bring communion to shut-ins. Today, this is part of my job. If you are a shut-in and would like communion, please reach out to me. I’d be happy to arrange a pastoral visit and bring communion.
Additionally, I want people to feel connected to our community, even if they can’t be here in person, which is why we’ll continue to stream Matins and the beginning of Liturgy. By doing this, we will continue to stream those parts of our services that are most abundant in hymnology and theology. These are also the parts of our services that, historically, were “public.”
There’s a saying that if you really want to go to seminary, just go to Matins every day for a year, and by doing so, you’ll have all the education you need. It’s unfortunate that many of our parishioners have opted not to attend Matins. However, I feel it’s so beneficial that we will continue to stream it and allow those who can’t be here in person to benefit from this treasure of our Church.
The streaming of services is really new in the life of the Church. COVID forced many churches, including ours, to rethink how to engage the world in a technological era. I’ve spent the last few years thinking about this in the context of what we do, the sacraments, theology, and the history of the Church. If I’ve upset you, please forgive me. Nonetheless, I think this is best for us, our community, and our salvation. And remember, if you can’t make it to church, please reach out to me. I’d love to connect with you.
Thank you for the explanation Dustin. It explains a lot. In the future you might want to do this type of explanation during or after liturgy, in person too. It would be more meaningful. It’d be tougher I know. It’d be similar to the stress I faced four times a year during parent/teacher conferences during my teaching life.
Again the explanation was solid. We never had streaming before. I personally hated it. I also hope we never allow government to shut the doors if our churches again.
Thanks for the post.
I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I wasn’t sure how to roll it out. I decided to do it quietly as an experiment, of sorts. I was curious if anyone would even notice.