“The end of the pandemic is near. Let’s bring it closer, let’s accelerate it by getting vaccinated. Everyone who gets vaccinated, with this act of love for God, himself and his neighbor, marks the fastest way out of this great national and global ordeal,” said in a statement Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, after being asked from a journalist of ANA-MPA in regards to the celebration of the Holy Days of Easter.
“Vaccination of all of us, especially of the older population, is not only an act of individual responsibility but also an act of Christian solidarity and love for our neighbor,” said the Archbishop of Athens.
Find below the full statement of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece:
“Our Church, clergy, and laity wishes and prays to celebrate the Days of the Holy Passion and the Resurrection of our Lord in and near our churches by always observing the appropriate health measures for the protection of the health and life of our fellow humans. But we must also take on the responsibilities that belong to each one of us as responsible citizens and faithful Christians.
I say it again with all the power of my heart: the vaccination of all of us, especially those of the elder, is not only an act of individual responsibility but also an act of Christian solidarity and love for our neighbor.
As Christians, we humans are completely free to choose. And God wants us to always choose the good, with mind and knowledge. By getting vaccinated and utilizing this gift of God and science to man, we choose the good.
The end of the pandemic is near. Let’s bring it closer, let’s accelerate it by being vaccinated. Everyone who gets vaccinated, with this act of love for God, himself, and his neighbor, marks the fastest way out of this great national and global ordeal.
The vaccine offers us the opportunity to restore the normality of our lives and the human embrace that we have missed so much.
We, the clergy, must first set a good example and make sure that everyone understands that the teaching of the Gospel is being falsified and tainted by those who, naively or selfishly, try, with teratologies, myths, and conspiracy theories, to deceive and intimidate our fellow humans”.