Mesogaias, Greece, December 3, 2020
Photo: pravoslavie.ru
The closure of churches is suffocating the Orthodox faithful of Greece and presents an even greater threat than the coronavirus, His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaias believes.
“Faith is very deeply rooted in the hearts of believers. It is more necessary than our breath. The measures that are imposed without hearing our breath or our cry are deadly for our existence. We cannot stand it. The need for the Church and its Sacraments is an existential need. And as Christmas approaches, the feeling of suffocation intensifies,” writes Met. Nicholas in an article published on Vima Orthodoxias.
While only clergy, altar servers, and chanters are currently allowed to attend services in Greece, churches are open in England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and so on. The present restrictions in Greece are in force at least until December 14.
They can go to church in France, he writes. Is it “because the faithful are fewer and therefore the threat is smaller? Or is it because ‘the performance of religious duties is a constitutional right’ in France and America and not in Greece?” the Metropolitan asks.
And in Cyprus, the churches were open for the feast of St. Andrew the First-Called, while the magnificent Church of St. Andrew in Patras was closed under police surveillance. “And then there’re the saints of December. And then Christmas…” Met. Nicholas writes sorrowfully.
Met. Nicholas, who holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from Harvard and M.I.T., has supported the state’s measures such as wearing masks, but the closure of churches is a step too far, he believes. He even petitioned the Greek Minister of Education and Religion Niki Kerameos in March about the closing of churches.
“Why are the measures so suffocating in Greece? Why, instead of gradually relaxing them should worship now be policed? Why here, in our blessed place, which is full of monasteries, churches and chapels, should you risk a fine for going to light a candle in church?” the Greek hierarch continues.
This “restrictive suffocation” is in place even for funerals, the Metropolitan laments.
It is unclear what brought on these restrictive measures, he writes. “Was there a spread of the pandemic in the churches, where there were fewer people than in the supermarkets and stores anyways?”
“And if some clergymen or monastics got sick, what does that mean? That they got infected in church? And why did the clergy get sick and not the faithful? Did Ministers and MPs get sick in their offices?” the hierarch of Mesogaias asks.
“We need breath. We are suffocating!” His Eminence exclaims. Regardless of who is to blame for the situation, something needs to change “for the necessity of our spiritual survival,” Met. Nicholas is sure.
The faithful need the Church and its Sacraments, and this reality is only more acutely felt as the feast of the Nativity approaches. The state’s measures are “deadly” for the existence of the faithful, Met. Nicholas exclaims.
The Metropolitan then reiterates that he does not oppose social distancing measures and the order to wear masks. He writes: “We gladly accept everything in order to keep our churches open. To keep them open and a crevice of hope within us. A bit of light. The oxygen of our Divine worship is much more necessary than the oxygen of our breath.”
“The churches must be open immediately,” says the Metropolitan. “The implemented measures have thrown us into the ICU… Closed churches threaten the faithful,” he concludes.
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