Following the guidelines issued by the Church of Greece earlier this week, the Holy and Sacred Synod provided details of the manner that processions will be held since the Greek State decided to suspend all processions for the following period.
As stated in the announcement of the Deputy Minister of Civil Protection and Crisis Management, “Following the relevant recommendation of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Church of Greece, all processions as well as all kinds of local festivals are suspended.”
As a result, the Holy Synod issued the following statement: “The Holy Synod recently issued an encyclical in order to remind the relevant decisions regarding the observance of the proposed precautionary measures for the protection of public health in Holy Temples.”
In the encyclical, a recommendation was also made with regard to processions, since when it was issued, the issue of their prohibition was not raised yet. In addition, it states that “processions will be held with due care, by preventing the faithful from overcrowding, and if possible, in accordance with the pastoral judgment of each Archbishop.”
The Holy Synod referred to a recent statement made by Archbishop Ieronymos about the stance taken by the Church of Greece towards the pandemic:
“The Church of Greece maintains a responsible attitude towards the Holy Clergy and the faithful, and it is interested in both health and the life of the people by ensuring smooth conduct of worship services.
Since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, our Church stood on its own feet, as it should, and was by the side of the Greek government and the Greek people in order to surmount effectively this national ordeal. We have achieved a lot by being united, in the context of the excellent cooperation between the two leading institutions of our nation as it has always been the case. The pandemic seems to threaten our country again, and, therefore, our Church must face the challenge. And it will.”