Bishop Ierotheos of Nafpaktos said he was disappointed that reopening churches wasn’t yet part of a New Democracy government plan to gradually lift a lockdown aimed at preventing the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.
He told SKAI TV there was frustration in the Church after leaders agreed to close after initially resisting being shut down and saying that letting people take Holy Communion wouldn’t spread the highly contagious virus.
“After all, what is the Church for (the government)? What is the Church, is it a union, is it a supermarket? Is it worse than a supermarket? Is it worse than a hairdresser?” he said.
“What is the Church? Isn’t it a divine organization that has a 20-Century tradition?” Ierotheos asked.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said that services for the public at churches would restart gradually as a request by Archbishop Ieronymos for them to reopen now would not be approved.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said there will be gradual and staggered reopenings of stores, business, services and other institutions shut on March 23 with the first phase coming May 4, with the churches not on the list yet.
BOSTON – His Eminence Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larissa and Tyrnavos, in an interview with the National Herald, revealed how he lived the drama of the deadly train accident at Tempi, near Larissa.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
Explore articles from the past and connect to your heritage!
Discover the benefits of a subscription including access to exclusive content, events, and more!
Have an idea for a story, or know of an event we should cover? We want to hear about it!
The National Herald is the paper of record of the Greek Diaspora community. Through independent journalism, we bring news to generations of Greek-Americans, with stories on the individual, community and international level. Visit and support our 106 year-old sister publication Εθνικός Κήρυξ.
To purchase a gift subscription, please log out of your account, and purchase the subscription with a new email ID.
Sign up to receive our daily email news briefing.
Sign up for a subscription to The National Herald,
starting as low as $1/week.
and receive more access to The National Herald
View our Terms of Service + Privacy Policy.
and receive more access to The National Herald
View our Terms of Service + Privacy Policy.
We use cookies on our site to personalize your experience, bring you the most relevant content, show you the most useful ads, and to help report any issues with our site. You can update your preferences at any time by visiting preferences. By selecting Accept, you consent to our use of cookies. To learn more about how your data is used, visit our cookie policy.
$1.09 USD
