“What is the Church? Is it a union? Is it a supermarket? Is it a hair salon after all? Is it worse than the supermarket and worse than the hair salon?” Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) of Nafpaktos, the spokesman for the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, asked with exasperation at the state’s announcement that…

Thomas Sunday was celebrated in a unique way by the Russian Boxing Federation yesterday, as the group launched a giant banner icon of Christ into sky over the city of Serpukhov, near Moscow. The launch was meant as a show of support to fans during the coronavirus pandemic, reports sportmk.ru. The icon, with an area…

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday afternoon announced a relaxation of imposed restrictions in the country aimed to prevent exposure to the Covid-19 virus, with personal worship allowed in churches and chapels as of Monday, May 4, while church services with worshipers will be allowed as of May 17. Public healthcare guidelines, such as…

The Archbishop is expected to suggest to the president that alternate church services be held on weekdays as a way of preventing overcrowding on Sundays. Local media reported on Tuesday that Archbishop Chrysostomos will argue his case for churches to be subjected to the same criteria of social distancing as businesses. This would mean, on…

Churchgoers should be allowed to attend Sunday services and major events, religious studies teachers of the secondary education teachers union (Oelmek) said on Monday. Their suggestion comes as the government is expected to announce plans for the gradual lifting of the lockdown on Wednesday. It is thought to be unlikely for churches to be reopened…

The Cyprus medical association (CyMA) was forced to put things into perspective on Monday regarding the high contagiousness of the coronavirus after 152 doctors co-signed a letter asking the president to allow people to attend church and receive Holy Communion. The health professionals argued that the ban on church attendance “deprives people of their sole…

Police have completed their investigation into a church service at Erimi on April 23 and have referred their findings to police headquarters, philenews reports. Citing sources it said that 20 people, including the priest at the Church of Ayios Yiorgos, Erimi’s community leader and 18 members of the public will be charged with breaking the…

The Moscow Patriarchate has again extended a ban on worshippers visiting churches in Moscow and the Moscow Region. According to earlier reports, such a ban was initially imposed for the period of the Holy Week and Orthodox Easter as part of measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus infection. The measure was then extended…