“As a prime minister I am obligated to listen to specialists and scientists,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said and urged faithful Greeks to refrain from church going to prevent spread of coronavirus.
In his televised address to the nation on Wednesday, short after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus “a pandemic, the Prime Minister finally took position on the public debate that has been dividing the Greek society in the last days.
“We don’t want to harm ourselves and our beloved ones. Personally, I have felt the need to call upon my faith, but as a prime minister I am obligated to listen to specialists and scientists. Whatever is valid for public gatherings also applies to church gatherings well,” Mitsotakis said.
He said that “religious duties much adapt to reality. They should be carried out from home, as much as possible, to limit large congregations.:”
What Greece needs right now is “the faith to overcome this crisis – as long as we follow closely the directions of doctors and specialists,” he said.
Using an as diplomatic as possible language, he said “I know that faith starts where science ends,” and called on the leadership of the Greek Orthodox Church to support him.
“It is not our faith that is tested but our belief in the people’s health,” he said.
A public debate sparked after a part of the society urged the government to close the churches as a measure to protect especially the elderly, while the other part, the clergy supported by the media, claimed that the Greek Orthodox faith along with church going were enough to prevent infection form the coronavirus.
Bishops from all over the country appeared on TV stations supporting this position, the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church ruled that there was no reason to halt messes or tell people to go to church, kiss icons or even receive the Ηoly Communion with one single spoon shared by 30-50 people.
One retired Bishop went so far to claim he had THE medicine against the virus and that was “the Holy Water in a spray bottle.”
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