A message to the faithful was addressed by Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus, in which he pointed out that the conditions we are experiencing are tragic for Christians, “since we perform the services in our churches without believers.”
The Archbishop wished God “to allow us to see spectacular results for the better in the coming days, so that our Government may allow us to perform our Services in the presence of our faithful.”
He also stressed the need for everyone to work collectively and to contribute to the elimination of the pandemic from both Cyprus and the rest of the world. In fact, he pointed out that we have to fight for three reasons.
The first reason is not to mourn other lives due to this illness, and the second is to be able as Christians to perform our religious duties and participate in the services as defined by our Church.
The third reason, according to Archbishop Chrysostomos, is to prevent a large-scale financial crisis, which he says will bring many deadlocks, job losses and the bankruptcy of “many of our brothers.”
“In such a case, neither the State, nor the Church, nor any other force will be able to deal with this whole difficult situation.”
Referring to those who have conscientious concerns about not participating in the sacraments and the services that will be held during Holy Week, he invites them to have courage. “The fact that we are deprived of all this is unbearably upsetting to us,” he said.
However, he emphasizes that “those who have true and genuine faith in God can and do pray wherever they are. Whether confined to their homes, as we are now in recent weeks, or to caves, deserts and mountains, like our ascetics and saints, they took Communion through their prayer with Christ and tasted and enjoyed the joy of Paradise without being inside a church or participating in the sacrament of the Holy Communion.
“If we really love God and therefore our fellow human beings, who are the image of God, our goal should be to end the pandemic in our country,” the Primate of Cyprus stated.
