Metropolitan Anthimos of Alexandroupolis spoke to radio station “Parapolitika” 90.1 FM in regards to the vaccine against COVID-19, the conspiracy for the microchip, the Holy Communion and the late Metropolitan of Kastoria, Seraphim.
“Today is a very sad day because the Metropolitan of Kastoria, a happy, sweet and noble man, fell asleep in the Lord” said Metropolitan Anthimos for the blessed Metropoltan of Kastoria. We have been on the firing line of many people with an exaggeration and absoluteness. At some point we retreated in front of the exaggerations, the extremes and the religious fanaticism”.
Asked if he would get the vaccine against COVID-19, the Metropolitan of Alexandroupolis replied characteristically that “it goes without saying,” in order to save both himself and the people around him. The Metropolitan added that he praises the Lord who enlightened the scientists and they proceeded to combine the required elements in order to fight the virus with this vaccine.
Referring to the conspiracy theories about the microchip, Metropolitan Anthimos emphasized characteristically: “What microchip, here the Greeks are stripped naked on facebook, will they be afraid of the microchip?”
For the priests who did not consent to the use of a mask inside the church, Metropolitan Anthimos pointed out that the first moves were wrong. “I do not see it only as a social event; it is a purely theological event. Some due to lack of theological information and training had the false impression that everything that enters the temple is sanctified. That false impression though led us to a war that should not be waged against the Holy Communion” noted the Metropolitan.
Referring to the Holy Communion, Metropolitan Anthimos stressed that it is a very sensitive matter. “Both the believers and the skeptics knocked on the door of the mystery in a brusque way. Neither the believer can say “come to commune and you will be fine”, nor this is theologically correct and at the same time we cannot say that “you will get infected” because both the miracle and the mystery mediate”.
“If we did not have all this pressure and all this cruelty, the church could sit down to discuss and change the way of offering the Holy Communion in order to overcome this sensitivity that many people had even before the outbreak of COVID-19” added the Metropolitan of Alexandroupolis.
