A priest in Halkidiki, northern Greece, warned those who have been vaccinated, had Covid-19 self test or wear a mask that he does not want them to attend services in the church. He went so far even to claim that these protection measures are dictated by the satan.
In the Good Friday sermon last week, the priest in Nea Silata said that the vaccination, the self-tests and the mask are dictated “by the satan” and falsely claimed that whoever does not follow these “satan’s measures” has no access to the health system and loses his job.
The crowd of the faithful applauded.
The cleric said that he could forbid those observing these measures to attend religious services but he won’t. “Everybody can do what he wants, in the end it is up to God to decide,” he warned the congregation.
He also denouncedng the stance of the Greek Orthodox Church leadership that has called on people to abide by safety protocols.
The measures are nothing short of “fascism” the priest said.
He has been reportedly already known as a vocal opponent of safety protocols against the coronavirus
You are absoklutely ciorrect, from the heart.
????????? Really??
I hope more priests will come forward with bullshit talking like this, because it’s the best and fastest way to get rid of the medieval virus called “Orthodox church”.
On the one hand he says that he doesn’t want them to come to church if they’ve done the vaccine, the rapid test or are wearing a mask. On the other hand he says he won’t stop them. Well, which is it???? And if someone just showed up and wanted communion and he apparently “knew” that they had done one (or more) of the three things he decried, would he GIVE them communion?
I like how he realizes that he’s said too much and claimed that there would be an uprising if he stuck to his guns. So he would allow people the free will that God gave them. If they already know that he causes trouble, where is the police to monitor? We cannot have more than 10 people in the church. AND THAT INCLUDES the
priest, the psaltes and any altar boys. Nobody had a more desolate Easter than we did.
His quotation from David is in fact from Matthew 15:14. But let’s put it in the old Testament because nobody reads that anyway. (or the new apparently)
Seriously. Seriously? Go away! Spare me your platitudes and righteous sanctimony.
Hellfire and damnation, Satan, fear and ignorance: all hallmarks of religious intolerance and not just in the Greek Orthodoxy. When will people realise that organised religion is just one more way to control the masses? I recall stories from Catholics, back in the UK, in the 60s and before, of priests and nuns beating young children for the most minor misdemeanour whilst preaching the forgiveness and mercy of God and Jesus. No wonder attendance at churches is falling (pre-Covid). Roll on the day when people are educated sufficiently to see through the hypocrisy inherent in religious organisation.
Hear hear !!!
In this matter its only one thing I am certain of: God did not what this! It is human interpretations of his words that have gone in the wrong direction! No matter what religion, it is always humans who “bends” the word and says what is right or wrong. And always to the benefit of the priest or his specific church. I think God is rather tired of mankind right now!
It’s with incidents like this that the Orthodox church begins to lose all credibility. And yet, the most unbelievable thing is that, in the 21st century where all scientific evidence is to the contrary, there are some people who actually listen to these priests and believe this stuff.