Civil Administrator of Mount Athos Says Monasteries Are Safe for Visitors, But Not Hermitages and Cells

"The image I have of Mount Athos, from the contacts with all the institutions and from the cooperation with the Health Center, is that it is not difficult to handle", reveals the Civil Administrator of Mount Athos, Thanasis Martinos, referring to the situation that prevails with the cases of coronavirus among the Athonite monks.

As Thanasis Martinos pointed out, speaking to ANT1, "at the moment we have 30-40 cases, mainly of isolated monks who live alone, and we also have 5-6 monks who are hospitalized in Thessaloniki, where we know that the situation is very difficult."

Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus: "Priests Who Oppose Vaccination Commit Fratricide"

Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, one of the most conservative ecclesiastical leaders in Greece but also one of the first who was vaccinated against the coronavirus, showed a strong reaction to the clergy who oppose vaccination through a TV interview on Tuesday morning, November 9th, saying they commit fratricide and emphasizing that they have no place in the Church.

Answering a relevant question about the abbots of monasteries on Mount Athos who are against vaccinations, he pointed out that "they all kill their brethren, the people do not understand it.... They are so selfish and egotistical that they do not understand this simple truth. Science is not from the devil, it is from God, but the devil has a great art, he is a a master artist. He is chasing us from the left with the most filthy atheism and from the right with zealotry without knowledge."

Diverse Pandemics: Follow Up to the Pastoral Encyclical to Clergy Regarding Protective Measures Against the Coronavirus Pandemic (Part 1 of 2)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Dealing with intense pastoral and social issues is, in a way, risky. It is better not to touch on such issues and to deal simply with indifferent issues, but, in the end, this is also ineffective.

As a responsible ecclesiastical pastor I need to make decisions and articulate my thoughts on various critical issues in order to inform Christians. If one is an ascetic in the wilderness of Mount Athos, perhaps he would not need to intervene, but to say a word to those who ask him, according to "the Elder said". However, the pastoral ministry has obligations and duties towards the Christians who are pastored.

Thus, a while ago I wrote an Encyclical for the Clergy of my Sacred Metropolis, so that there would be no serious cases among the priests, and that this "evil" would not spread to the entire fullness of the Church, so that Christians attribute the spread of the disease to the Clergy. Those involved in social and ecclesiastical work must take action. It would be unreasonable for Doctors in Hospitals to perform surgeries or other treatments and not to take the necessary precautionary measures.

Pastoral Encyclical to Clergy Regarding Protective Measures Against the Coronavirus Pandemic (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Dear Fathers and Brothers,

As you know, our country and the whole world has been suffering for more than a year and a half from the so-called health crisis, SARS-CoV-2, that causes infection and the disease of Covid-19.

In this matter the State takes the appropriate measures, coordinating with the World Organizations for the health of its citizens, and the Church treats this matter with seriousness, sobriety and responsibility.

Among the measures to prevent infection and disease, and perhaps one of the most important, is the vaccine, as is the case with many other diseases. The Standing Holy Synod took specific decisions on this issue:

On January 13, 2021, it decided: The Holy Synod "closely monitors the issue of vaccinations, through the Synodal Committee on Bioethics, which, with its continuous reports, informs the Synod. In this context, the Holy Synod was informed that, following an investigation, the Covid-19 vaccines currently used in our country do not require the use of embryonic cell cultures for their production.

Vaccines and Ecclesiastical Life

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

If some research is done among churchgoers and even during their attendance at the Divine Liturgy, it will be found that all of them have various and varied diseases and, of course, they also make the relevant treatment, following therapeutic guidance.

This is evident from the fact that in every home, especially where young children and the elderly live, there are drawers and separate areas full of medicines.

We are in a time when environmental pollution is prevalent, diseases are on the rise and therefore many medicines are being taken by humans.

Encyclical from 1864 Shows the Orthodox Church of Greece Made Vaccination Against Smallpox Mandatory for All Believers

Introduction

The smallpox vaccine, introduced by Edward Jenner in 1796, was the first successful vaccine to be developed. When smallpox devastated Greece in 1864, rulers were trying to find a way to fight it, and the Greek Orthodox Church through an encyclical of the Holy Synod had addressed the local hierarchs and consequently the Body of the Church, promoting the vaccine.

With harsh expressions for the time, the Holy Synod in its encyclical characterizes non-vaccination as a deadly sin, going one step further, calling those who refuse to be vaccinated that may die from the disease as suicides.

It proves that the Church has the maturity and the tools to motivate the faithful to be vaccinated and, above all, to isolate the divergent views within it.

This flashback refutes all those who try to accuse the Church of challenging science, despite the clear statements in favor of vaccinating both by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Hieronymos of Athens and All Greece, among many other Hierarchs throughout the world.

Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaia Responds to Questions Regarding Coronovirus Vaccination (Chips, Embryos, Trusting Scientists, Side Effects, etc.)

His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaia, who has become a trusted ecclesiastical voice in matters related to the coronovirus due to his extensive scientific and Athonite background, ruled out the possibility of creating a "nanosphere" which could enter with the coronavirus vaccine in the body.

Speaking on behalf of the Bioethics Committee of the Church of Greece in an online meeting on "Pandemic Covid-19" organized by the Metropolis of Neapolis and Stavroupolis on January 21st, he clarified that there is no such technology that is being tested, regarding the infamous claim of "chip" implantation through the vaccine.

The Metropolitan of Mesogaia, Nicholas, in an online meeting on the issue of vaccines, added, however, that the "biggest threat from a 'chip' would be our mobile phone; everything is done better through applications than it could be done with a nanosphere that could possibly to get into my body with the vaccine."

George Blatzas, the Doctor of Saint Paisios, Has Reposed

George Blatzas reposed in the Lord on the Monday of Renewal Week, 3 May 2021, on the feast of his patron saint, the great martyr George.

George Blatzas was not only a leading surgeon, but also a consistent Christian and confessor of the Christian faith from his teenage years, as a mediator of the civil strife. The spiritual son of the preacher of the Metropolis of Kitros and Katerini and later a well-known missionary of Africa, Fr. Charitonos Pneumatikakis, he had a connection early with Mount Athos and especially with Saint Paisios.

Further Updates and Clarifications of Vaccinations on Mount Athos

Since I am occasionally asked to update information and clarify matters regarding the vaccination of the monks of Mount Athos, with some even denying that it is taking place or overly downplaying it, I decided to make my own personal contacts with people I know on the Holy Mountain and have also sought reports directly coming from Mount Athos to provide the latest information, as of April 13th 2021.

- There was a long delay in sending the vaccines from Athens to Mount Athos, endangering the lives of the older monks and of monks with underlying diseases.

- Vaccinations started about three weeks ago, but only with 120 vaccines available, which were given in five days. No other vaccines had been sent to Mount Athos.

Spiritual Benefits of Sicknesses, Doctors and Medicines (Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra)

By Elder Aimilianos of Simonopetra

So when someone does not want to take medicines, or if they do not want to go to a doctor, whatever their illness, they show how they are governed by an individual-centred system of life, or they show that they are guilty, and therefore hide. Like, when you ask for someone and they don't show up, then you ask for them again and they don't show up again, so you say, they must have done something, something is happening, so likewise is anyone who hates medicine or drugs that is seriously ill physically, above all mentally. He is a nonsensical man, for it says, "a sensible man will not despise them" (Sirach 38). He is a nonsensical man, a nonsensical woman, incorrigible, unrepentant, he doesn't care about God, but only cares about his worm-eaten body and worm-eaten soul as he sees fit, just in case he can get out to the seashore. But medicine and doctors show that we lay the administration of our existence to God, that we are not the rulers of ourselves.

Update on the Vaccinations of the Monks on Mount Athos

Below is an update to my last post, due to popular request.

The Pfizer vaccines arrived at the Karyes Health Center on Friday and the vaccinations started immediately, and they should be completed within a week.

The second dose is scheduled for within the first ten days of April.

About 500 people, mostly monks, but also lay people who have been living on Mount Athos for a long time, have received the vaccine so far.

Monks of Mount Athos Begin to be Vaccinated

A Coast Guard boat delivered the first 400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Friday, March 19, to Mount Athos and vaccinations began immediately.

The vaccination center was set up at the Health Center in Karyes under the supervision of the director, Konstantinos Dokouslis.

The first 36 monks were vaccinated on Friday, as well as employees-collaborators of monasteries, while the vaccinations will continue daily.

The abbot of the Holy Monastery of Esphigmenou, Archimandrite Bartholomew, was the first to be vaccinated, followed by monks from the Monasteries of Iveron, Koutloumousiou, Simonos Petras, who were there especially for this purpose in Karyes.

The Orthodox Church and Science Today: An Interview With Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos (2 of 2)

...continued from part one.

K.H.: So we are to understand, Your Eminence, with what you are telling us that beyond the pandemic, the vaccine, the lockdown, all these situations we live in, there are a number of other issues that have to do with the relationship between theology and science and between the Church and the State.

M.H.: Do you want me to be more raw in how I say it? I don't know if it will provoke. When we say the word "superstition", what do we mean? If you open Babiniotis' dictionary you will see that superstition is the irrational belief in supernatural and mysterious forces that rule the world and affect our lives. This is superstition, where they do not believe in the real God, or that God rules the world, but it is directed by some invisible forces. And this is an expression of religion. Religion, said Father John Romanidis, has the element of mysticism, superstition and magic. Why? Because, when one believes that there are supernatural forces, mysterious, impersonal forces that rule the world and influence people, UFOs and whatever else, then immediately magic follows.

The Orthodox Church and Science Today: An Interview With Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos (1 of 2)

 

This was a recorded interview by the journalist Katerina Houzouri with Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos on the issue of Orthodoxy and Science regarding contemporary issues, conducted for the Radio Station of the Church of Greece on 4 January 2021.

 

Katerina Houzouri: We have the special pleasure and honor to host His Eminence the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou Mr. Hierotheos. Your Eminence, we wish you a Happy New Year.

Metropolitan Hierotheos: Good morning to you and the listeners. May you be well, have strength, health and most importantly have inspiration. This is very important because all our saints talk about inspiration. That is, the Christian, as both Saint Porphyrios and Saint Sophronios said, resembles the poet. Just as the poet and the artist is inspired, when he starts in the morning, he is inspired and he begins to create his work, so we must be inspired for God, for life, for love and for God, and so on. It is something I would like to emphasize today at the beginning to the listeners and offer my wish: Let us have spiritual inspiration.

"A Blessing and Gift of God": Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus Is Vaccinated

 

On Friday, 15 January 2021, Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus was the first in his Metropolis to receive the vaccination against Covid-19, in a symbolic move to give assurance to all in his Metropolis to likewise be vaccinated. This was done before the administrative and nursing staff, as well as the residents, of the Piraeus Nursing Home, which has been in operation for 130 years, were vaccinated.

"The advancement of science in the service of man is always a blessing and a gift from God," said the Metropolitan.

The New Vaccine Against the Coronavirus from a Scientific Perspective

 

The following information was published 

by the Metropolis of Nafpaktos

Vaccination throughout Europe and in our country began on 27 December 2020 and continues. Our Metropolitan [Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou] was among the first to be vaccinated and in fact the first of the Hierarchs and all the Clergy of the Church, after he asked three specialist University professors in Greece and four professors-researchers in American Universities regarding the safety of the vaccine, and after his own study of the scientific texts. He recorded his views on the subject in a text titled "Why I Was Vaccinated", which has been published.

Why I Was Vaccinated (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 

Why I Was Vaccinated

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

I am one of the first in Greece to get the new vaccine and with this text I wanted to express some of my thoughts that led me to this.

1. The Pandemic as War

For about a year we have been suffering from the new coronavirus (sars-cov2) which causes covid-19 disease, and has created many problems in the Church, society and the family. The economic, psychological and, above all, the social consequences are great and no one can number and surpass them.

During the first period of the pandemic, when I was a representative of the Church, I was given the opportunity to see all the issues related to the new virus, and the effects it has on people, society and the Church.

Unsanitary Miracles

Every time there is mention of saliva, spoons and the like - by those who have targeted Holy Communion - the miracle comes to mind of the man born blind (John 9). The Lord, with a “sanitarily unacceptable” action, restored the eyes of the blind man! He mixed His saliva (a means of spreading viruses and bacteria) with soil (a source of millions of germs) and “smeared” the clay mixture over the eye sockets of the blind man (mucosal conjunctiva: a point of entry for germs and the onset of infection). We are familiar with what ensued, just as we know that no science is able to reproduce that result. Quite simply, if it had taken place today, apart from the Pharisees of that time, among Jesus’ accusers would also be certain narrow-minded infectious disease specialists.

- Monk Paul of the Holy Mountain

Biologist, MD Molecular Biology and Biomedicine

Vouleftiria, Holy Mountain

Book Recommendation: "Journey of a Doctor: In Search of the Spiritual Dimension of the Medical Profession"

Journey of a Doctor: In Search of the Spiritual Dimension of the Medical Profession

By Stylianos D Poyiadjis

The Journey of a Doctor is a book of Eastern Orthodox spirituality. A doctor is searching for the spiritual dimension of the medical profession and for the necessary qualities required by a doctor in practicing his mission. The search takes the doctor to holy places where, in discussion with wise and enlightened gerontes (elders), he gets answers to the multitude of his questions. He gets answers on the virtues of prayer, humility, love, compassion and conscientiousness in practicing his profession. He gets further clarity on his relationship with the patient, with the patient’s family, with his own family, with himself. He also gets answers on material issues, ethical dilemmas and how to face adverse outcomes.This book is addressed, not only to doctors, but also to anyone who at some stage will fall ill and will need medical attention. It is encouraging when the patient realizes the spiritual battle of his treating doctor and his titanic efforts to offer cure and relief. The spiritual benefits of illness to the patient, to the doctor and their immediate environment are of great importance.

PURCHASE HERE

Vaccination and the Virus of Misinformation

On Thursday 14 May 2020 an Informational Clergy-Laity Synaxis took place at the Holy Metropolis of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou in view of the opening of the churches for the participation of the faithful in the Holy Mysteries following the closing of the churches to the faithful due to the coronavirus crisis. It took place in the Church of Saint Paraskevi in Nafpaktos and it was presided over by His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou, who recently was the official spokesperson for these issues in the Church of Greece. After the discussion he was asked the following question, which is followed by his response: