Orthodox Christians in Greece will celebrate the most unusual Christmas of the last decades under the long shadow of the pandemic.
According to the Joint Ministerial Decision, up to 25 believers are allowed to attend the services at churches on Christmas, that is one believer per 15 sq.m. , whereas up to 50 believers are allowed to attend the services at the metropolitan cathedrals. It remains to be seen how the church stuff will manage to select the faithful who will enter the churches and the cathedrals.
Moreover, several parishes across the country have informed the faithful, who wish to attend the Divine Liturgy, to register so that they know in advance who will attend the services. At the same time, larger parishes stated that their doors would close as soon as a church reaches the maximum number of people allowed.
Therefore, many churches have scheduled two and three celebrations of the Christmas Divine Liturgy, in order to give as many believers as possible the opportunity to participate in the service. However, this will be possible in parishes where there is an adequate number of priests.
The instructions given by the Holy Synod to the local metropolises are very strict and, therefore, priests are called to observe the precautionary measures and the rules to the letter.
Source: ANA-MPA