“Christianity and the Church are not persecuted,” said Metropolitan Ignatios of Dimitrias while stressing that “in view of the Holy Week, if given the opportunity to perform the religious services behind closed doors, in a climate of absolute confidence, under the responsibility of the Hierarchs and all the clergy of Greece, it will allow us to find a medium that will deter others from exploiting the situation in order to cause tension that will lead to dangerous developments.”
Speaking at the Mega TV station, Metropolitan Ignatios of Dimitrias stressed the gravity of the current situation, “so we stay home and this is a responsibility for all of us.”
He pointed out, “We all wanted to experience this Great Lent and the coming Holy Week in a different way, but we won’t as we had expected. I feel, however, that the Standing Holy Synod, which meets tomorrow, will propose that the religious services should be performed by a priest and a chanter at least behind closed doors. It will be a consolation for every believer to know that one priest is at the church and prays for all of us…”
Asked what would happen if the Greek government did not accept such a solution, he noted, “We will do everything so far. I think that prudence will prevail.”
Metropolitan Ignatios emphasized, “Today neither Christianity nor the Church are is not being persecuted. The current situation is being faced with proper responsibility. Therefore, we must not compare the current situation to other regimes, nor should we cause tensions that will have the opposite effect.”
Source: protothema.gr
