In Internet-cyberspace, there are various Ecumenical Christian forums which allow members of World Orthodoxy to have their own subforums. There are also several forums dedicated to the World Orthodox. While in World Orthodoxy, I used to belong to several of these forums, but I had to leave because I noticed an increasing spirit of dissipation, which was taking hold of those forums. This spirit of dissipation is foreign to the admonition of 1 St. Peter 5: 8-9: "Be sober, be watchful, for the devil like a roaring lion roams about the world seeking whom he may devour. Resist him firm in the faith." This lack of sobriety is also antagonistic to St. Pauls' admonition to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5: 17-22 NKJV.
Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesying. Test all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.
In addition, the spirit of Ecumenism on these forums became intolerable as rules not only banned members of True Orthodoxy but also allowed the diversity of heterodox thinking to flourish. A few priests from World Orthodoxy eventually left these forums when they realized the level of diversity that was being allowed. However, some of these priests remained, joined the moderation team, and changed over time, becoming increasingly filled with a lack of sobriety to the point where one moderator-priest was removed from moderation due to serious charges of impropriety.
Yes, a sense of humor is needed at the appropriate time, but inappropriate remarks coming from Orthodox Christians can be scandalous. Orthodox Christians, especially priests, should never make jokes about our fasts, feasts, and holy services.
Recently, there was a tasteless joke posted by a World Orthodox priest who mentioned reducing the time of services to 45 minutes, reducing the fast, and fixing a common date of Easter. Some priests in the Greek Orthodox Church under the EP, actually did shorten the Divine Liturgy to 45 minutes with a 15 minute sermon after the Liturgy. This violates St. Paul's admonition in 1 Thes. 5 to "hold fast that which is good." World Orthodox continue to shorten services to comply with the complaints of their parishioners. The Narthex Press Services for Holy Week and Easter is greatly abbreviated, especially the service for Holy Saturday Matins and the Vesperal Liturgy where many of the readings have been omitted. http://narthexpress.com/join-our-newsle ... and-easter