A priest in a monastery slammed and insulted an elderly woman for wearing a protection mask during a mass. The monk priest at the Monastery of Agia Paraskevi in Eordea interrupted the divine service to slam the 74-year-old woman for wearing a protective mask.
“I don’t want any carnival in my church,” the priest said and asked her to leave.
The woman who was the only one with a mask among the faithful, refused to go.
According to local media, what was “impressive” was that nobody from the congregation gathered for the service of the Saint’s name day, reacted to the monk’s insults against the elderly woman.
It is worth noting that Eordea by Kozani in western Macedonia had several coronavirus confirmed cases at the peak of the outbreak.
An a post on Facebook, the daughter of the elderly woman expressed her frustration over the incident and spoke of “Middle Ages” in Greece.
Stergiani Gaki wrote among others: “Somebody tells this ‘priest’ who with overwhelming rudeness and arrogance called my 74-year-old responsible mother ‘a carnival’ that I pay him with my taxes and that he is there to transmit the love of God to our souls and lives. Just shame and sorrow… Middle Ages…”
The Greek government needed a great effort to have the Church and several priest comply with the protection measures against the pandemic.
Local media note that the said monastery has ‘separated’ from the Diocese of Florina, Prespa and Eordea since years and operates in autonomously. The monks there are considered as “fanatics” and at odds with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. They consider “Ecumenism” as a step that opens the door for arrival of the antichrist.
In some parts of the Greek Orthodox Church, obscurantism is still alive and kicking.
So typical here in Greece Im afraid to say,they dont support each other unless its about their pensions.No person will stand up and say..yes she or he has right,leave them alone you rude bully..I was verbally assaulted today whilst waiting in the boiling heat outside the post office,only three allowed in.You get back from me,why you are so close?I had a mask on,he did not and I was trying to get out of the sun before I fainted,when actually he was almost touching the Greek woman in front,I wasnt touching him,far from it,no one said stop picking on her racist.I thought how I would deal with this horrible person,i crossed myself and ignored him,I said please God help me with this thing.