Well, as it turns out, I misunderstood Fr. Anthony and must now issue a correction to my last post, this is part of his explanation of the true position on vaccines:

The Patriarchate of Antioch’s Holy Synod has indicated that decisions about vaccines or medical issues in general are a matter of personal conscience and decision.

Fr. Anthony

So, thankfully, there is less conflict than I thought, this basically agrees with what my own bishop has stated, and now I can rest easy again.  

That said, the whole matter of vaccines does make for a good thought experiment.

St. Paul is quite clear about respecting the conscience of others over having our own way, that is what it means to follow after Christ who died as an example of self-sacrificial love.  

If we can’t give an inch, always have to fight tooth and nail finding every excuse we can muster to be defiant, then I do start to wonder about the truth of that commitment to love.  

It would sort of be like the husband who claims to love his wife and then absolutely refuses to respect her wishes in anything because he’s too perfect (in his own mind) to let her preference trump his own.

How far will you go in love?