Some journalists mocked “in an uncivilized way” the Bishop’s death and “the testimony of his faith in Holy Communion, as if they had information about the cause of the transmission of the disease,” the Holy Synod said.
It added that “in defiance of epidemiological evidence, they [the journalists] even decide on matters of faith, without any theological knowledge.”
the statement spoke of “social racism”, of “targeting and incriminating the sick and the dead of the coronavirus pandemic.”
There has been a lot of discussion in Greece on whether people can get contaminated with Covid-19 if they share the silver spoon of the Holy Communion with others.
So far, there has been no scientific research on the matter, even though one could carry out one just to finally put an end to this public debate arising again and again since the outbreak in February.
But in a country like Greece, where state and church are not separated, a scientific research on such a sensitive issue is simply impossible. Even though
The Greek Orthodox Church believes that with the Holy Communion the faithful symbolically shared the body and blood of Jesus Christ and that this is an disputable dogma.
Top clergies have loudly said again and again that the virus is not transmitted with the shared spoon.
Some claimed that the virus does not stick on “the silver” of which the spoon is made, others that “alcohol content” of the wine with which the Holy Communion is mixed “kills the virus.” Of course, the light red wine used does not have 0ver 75% alcohol needed to kill the virus as scientists say.
Note that several members of the Holy Synod are in self-isolation after tested positive to Covid-19.
