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> Politics

Is the Church worse than a hairdresser’s, Metropolitan Hierotheos protests over decision to keep churches sealed

The government decided to only allow personal worship

Newsroom April 28 12:06

The spokesman of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos expressed his strong reaction to the government’s decision to open the churches in the first phase only for individual prayer and at a later stage give the “green light” to perform Divine Liturgies with presence of believers.

“I look forward to a return not only to normality but also to ecclesiastic normalcy,” Metropolitan Hierotheos said, adding that “if the problem is overcrowding, we will take all measures necessary, we will do what they have instructed us to do.” Now I don’t know if they have any other reasons.”

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Greek Church leaders’ “ultimatum” demanding reopening of Churches

He voiced his disappointed by what he heard from government spokesman Stelios Petsas on Monday afternoon, wondering “what is the Church for them, after all. What is the Church, is it a club, is it a supermarket? Is it worse than the supermarket or worse than the a hairdresser’s? What is the Church, is not a divine organisation that has a 20-century tradition?”

In fact, Mr. Hierotheos went one step further by wondering “what is this power and what are the limits of power”.

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