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 Despite a plea by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for Church
authorities to set an example during a crisis that has killed more
than 5,000 in Greece, worshippers attended morning services,
although limits were placed on the number allowed into churches at
one time.
"State orders are one thing and faith is another," said a
38-year-old worshipper who gave her name as Stavroula, after
attending morning service at a church in the outskirts of Athens.
"No law can order us what to do."
Police patrolled outside a number of churches but said they would
not interfere with services and would use "mild" measures to
persuade people not to crowd inside.
The approach underlined the reluctance of Mitsotakis' conservative
government to seek confrontation with the Orthodox Church, which
plays an influential role in Greek public life.
On Sunday, authorities extended public lockdown measures,
effectively withdrawing permission which had been granted previously
to hold Epiphany services with a maximum of 50 people in attendance
in large churches and 25 in smaller ones.
A Reuters reporter saw no signs of that limit being breached at the
Athens church where she spoke to worshippers.
[to top of second column] |
 On Monday, in a rare show of
dissent, Synod leaders wrote to the government
to say there was no justification for preventing
Epiphany services. Until now, the Church has
largely respected curbs on religious services to
limit the spread of COVID-19. In
the Eastern Orthodox Church, Epiphany is one of the most important
religious feasts, commemorating the baptism of Christ and the
revelation of the Holy Trinity. A popular ritual in which swimmers
retrieve a cross thrown into the water by a priest has been banned
this year.
While Greece has been more successful than many European countries
in containing the coronavirus, its struggling health services have
been badly weakened by years of financial crisis. In recent weeks it
has been battling significant COVID clusters in northern Greece and
western Attica near the capital Athens.
(Writing by James Mackenzie; editing by John Stonestreet)
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