Mt. Athos, January 25, 2022
Photo: vimaorthodoxias.gr
Given the flurry of recent articles about the state of the pandemic on Mt. Athos, the Sacred Community has issued a new statement emphasizing the danger of misinformation.
The Sacred Community is the governing body for the Holy Mountain, consisting of one representative from each of the 20 ruling monasteries.
A handful of monks from Philotheou Monastery have reposed in recent days, and according to some reports, the majority of the monks are sick.
Against the background of such reports, the representatives state that they have always taken all necessary protection measures and have always encouraged all monasteries to abide by them. The Community is deeply grateful to the political administration of Mt. Athos, which has given all possible assistance to the monasteries to combat the pandemic.
Each monastery on the Holy Mountain “is self-governing and responsible for further protection measures, in addition to the common measures, directions, and recommendations from the Sacred Community,” the statement continues.
And according to the Sacred Community, “there is no divisive atmosphere among the monks over the pandemic, but genuine mutual respect for the attitude and choices of each institution and person.”
If COVID cases and even deaths rise, it “shouldn’t be attributed to non-observance of protection measures without taking into account other factors, such as the common coenobitic life, the personal attitude of each monk, etc.”
While every monk can have his own view, “The individual voices of monks, wherever they come from, don’t represent Mt. Athos,” the statement reads.
Therefore, the Sacred Community emphasizes that the negative exposure of persons and institutions of the Holy Mountain “increases the burden of those who have suffered loss from the pandemic, sometimes leads to one-dimensional information and misinformation, and doesn’t contribute to the coordinated efforts of all the bodies of Mt. Athos to deal with it.”
In May 2020, the Sacred Community issued a statement saying the pandemic mustn’t impede people’s ability to receive Holy Communion.
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