The Archbishop of Cyprus intervened in the Cypriot state channel on the occasion of the new measures that have been taken by the Government of Cyprus which concern among others the churches as well.
According to the new measures, from now on, the services will be held without the presence of believers. The Archbishop of Cyprus said that next Sunday the churches will adhere to the rules because, as he stated, the Church is not superior to the state.
The reactions of several Metropolitans were strong. Particularly, the Metropolitan of Morphou said that all the holy sacraments will be carried out normally in the churches of his parish while the Metropolitan of Paphos requested the revision of the imposed measures from the Diocese of Tamassos as well.
“Most Metropolitans know this; an extraordinary Synod will take place next Tuesday. We are always strict and we will continue because only then the virus will be eradicated.
We can discuss this issue and make a sensible decision. We do not like extremes. The Church always keeps the middle ground. The extremes are the work of the devil we say in the Church. We can explain to the Government that austerity can bring positive results and it certainly will,” said the Archbishop.
He then reported on how the holy temples can function with the presence of believers and with observance of the measures.
“Every churchgoer will have 4 square meters. Where we have two priests we can officiate a second service so as not to be forced to put more believers in the temple. No one will enter the temple without a face mask. The faithful will be sparsely positioned. Our effort is to help our flock and stop the spread of the pandemic.”
“On Christmas we will officiate and the faithful will commune observing these measures. I believe that the Government will accept the unanimous decision of the Church”, he added.
For the coming Sunday and the services, the Prelate of the Church said that they must adhere to the rules. “We are not superior to the state, we must not fight,” he said characteristically.
