The Church of Greece, via its announcement, decided not to consent to the new government measures in regards to the operation of the holy temples, fully confirming the publication of orthodoxtimes.gr.
In particular, the announcement states that the Standing Holy Synod insists on what was originally agreed with the State and instructs that the holy temples should remain open for the participation of the faithful in the Divine Liturgy and the Sanctification of the waters within the Holy Temples on the day of the Epiphany.
The Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece asks the State to fully respect the above JMD without any further problems, taking into account the fact that “on the feast of Christmas and New Year, as well as on the rest of the Twelve Days of Christmas, in the thousands of Parish Churches of the Church of Greece all the envisaged health measures to limit the spread of coronavirus have been observed with the care of the local Metropolitans and the clergy”.
The Church of Greece also sent a letter of protest to the Greek Government, considering dialogue as the only means of resolving issues concerning the State’s relations with the religious communities that exist in Greece.
The Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece calls on both the European Union leadership and the Greek Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that a sufficient number of approved vaccines will be provided to citizens immediately.
“No one has the right to serve extraneous purposes in the face of such an important issue as overcoming the pandemic, because the right to health belongs to everyone,” the Standing Holy Synod pointed out.
