One Year Since the Beginning of Vaccination in Greece (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Indeed, a full year has passed since the day the vaccination started in Greece and I received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on December 27, 2020, as a representative of the Church of Greece, and some days later on the 21st of January 2021, I received the second dose, and glory to God I am until now in good health.

In the statements I made then and in a text I wrote I formulated the two reasons that led me to this decision.

The first reason was a thought that prevailed in me that, from our childhood and throughout our lives, we received many vaccinations, we took many medicines and so we survived so many years in life and we praise God for that. Also, we thank the scientists, who with the help of God kept us alive, to work for the glory of God and the Church, but also the good of society.

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.

"Glorify the Name of God Through Science" (St. Paisios the Athonite)

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The quote I placed in the title of this article are words of Saint Paisios the Athonite from a letter he wrote, which is in fact handwritten.

I say this because some people transmit words Saint Paisios delivered to them orally, which may not be preserved in their authentic expression. If even one word is changed or missing or added it can take on an entirely different meaning.

Reading the book of Hieromonk Paisios, who was a novice under Saint Paisios, titled Perfume Emptied (Μύρον ἐκκενωθέν, published by the Monastery of Saint Hilarion in Promachoi Aridaía), I noticed that he has preserved many incidents from the many years of communication with him, on various matters, and I also read towards the end that he also published two letters Saint Paisios addressed to him.

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.

An Orthodox Christian View of the Theory of Evolution

In a discussion after a lecture on Orthodox Psychotherapy on 14 July 2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos answered the following question from an attendee:

Question: What is your view of Darwin's theory of evolution? How did the world evolve?

Answer: This is a scientific theory that scientists study and on which they repeatedly express their views.

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:

Biology, Bioethics and Biotheology (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Orthodox Church has its own realm where all the applications of the teaching and work of Christ take place. The Church cures people and helps them to overcome all problems, even death itself and the fear of death.

Christians also live, however, in a world that has its own peculiarities. In the first centuries there were major persecutions and Christians were taken to be martyred, as happens in the Middle East in our own era. They also suffered from the great Christological and Trinitarian heresies, but even today there are many forms of heresy that afflict the body of the Church. Many other social and scientific problems exist as well.

It has been noted that during the early centuries the Fathers of the Church faced problems originating from classical metaphysics, particularly from Neoplatonism, and for that reason they had to define dogmatic terms, so that revelational truth would not be altered. Today there are similar problems due to more recent philosophy, the Enlightenment, existentialism and German idealism.

The Views of Orthodox Theology on Bioethical Issues (6 of 6)

...continued from part five.

7. General Biotheological Principles

According to Aristotle, man “by nature has a desire to know”. If this applies to every field of human knowledge, it applies even more to the mystery of life. Human beings have always been preoccupied with the question of what life is, how life begins, who gave them life, what existed before their conception, where they were before, and what the meaning of life is. It is striking that from the beginning of their lives children are interested in these questions. However, such questions frequently arise at any age and at critical times, in adolescence, middle age and old age, as well as in extreme life-or-death situations.

Today, with the combination of technology and medicine, it is possible for human beings to investigate these serious questions, particularly about what happens as soon as they are conceived and how they lived in their mother’s womb from the moment of conception. The problem is basically theological.

A few brief but crucial theological responses on bioethical and related issues are set out below.

The Views of Orthodox Theology on Bioethical Issues (5 of 6)

...continued from part four.

6. Biomedical and Medical Research

1) From the views of various scientists, researchers and specialists in biomedical and medical research connected with patents, biobanks and clinical trials, it is clear that all research is implicated in different forms of interdependence with corporations and research centers. These things are not as natural as some people claim. Apart from some well-disposed researchers motivated by an interest in dealing with problems afflicting humankind, there are others who place all research in the context of vested interests and commercial gain. There is a difference between scientists in the past and those of recent times, because corporations and universities complicate the issues.

The Views of Orthodox Theology on Bioethical Issues (4 of 6)

...continued from part three.

5. Biotechnology and the Environment

1) The universe was created by God and He is the Lord of the world. The one who creates something also has power over it. The Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, created the angels first, then the material creation, and finally man, who is made up of spiritual and material elements (soul and body), and is the microcosm of the entire universe. The kingdom was created, and then the king was created to enter it.

2) Human beings reign over creation; they are rulers of creation by God’s command. They cultivate creation and manage it with God’s special permission and authorization, so they are not able to appropriate it for themselves. Although they manage it they must not usurp it. This means that their jurisdiction is limited and they cannot behave as God, but as God’s stewards and managers who have been authorized by Him. Arrogance has consequences both for human beings themselves and for nature.

The Views of Orthodox Theology on Bioethical Issues (3 of 6)

...continued from part two.

4. The End of Biological Life

a) Euthanasia

The Church faces the issue of euthanasia from the Orthodox perspective that we saw earlier, when we identified the way in which the Church handles other bioethical problems. Four important points will be mainly emphasized here.

1) Life was given to human beings by God, so it is God’s gift to humankind. This means that God alone, not man, has exclusive rights over life. God has power over life, and He takes life when the right time comes. A human being is not entitled to take his life, as he is not the cause of life.

The Views of Orthodox Theology on Bioethical Issues (2 of 6)

...continued from part one.

3. Prolongation of Biological Life

a) Blood Transfusions

1) Man’s soul is the spiritual element of his existence which, together with the body, constitutes the whole human being. The blood is part of the bodily organism and is not, of course, identified with the soul. According to St Gregory Palamas, “The soul is everywhere in the body.” As essence it is in the heart as in an organ, and as energy it is in the whole body. In Holy Scripture the word ‘soul’ is used with many meanings. Sometimes it denotes the spiritual element of human existence, sometimes it describes the human being, and sometimes it means life. Thus in some cases it is written that animals also have a soul, in other words, life. In human beings the soul has essence (nous and free will) and energy, whereas in animals it only has energy, which is why they act by feeling and instinct. There are passages in the Old Testament in which the soul is equated with blood, for instance, “The soul of all flesh is in its blood” (Lev. 17:11) and “Be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul” (Deut. 12:23). Here the word ‘soul’ means life (and is translated as ‘life’ in English versions of the Old Testament), because blood is the basic element that constitutes and sustains life.

The Views of Orthodox Theology on Bioethical Issues (1 of 6)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

1. Introduction

I have been involved for many years with bioethical problems arising from contemporary genetic issues concerning the beginning of biological life, its prolongation and its end. The outcome of this involvement was my book Bioethics and Biotheology, which was published in Greek.

This book attempts to give a brief presentation of the genetic problems, from the point of view of molecular biology and genetic engineering, and after each chapter the theological view of the Orthodox Church on each issue is briefly set out.

This is an English translation of the theological views of the Orthodox Church on bioethical issues, which have been taken from the above-mentioned book. The English translation is by Sister Pelagia.

The "Ecclesiastical" Theory of Evolution

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

The Church Fathers, when speaking of the Transfiguration of Christ and the partaking of divine glory, speak of the personal ascent on the mount of the vision of God. It is the constant cry of the Church: "Make Thine everlasting light shine forth also upon us sinners." And in a related prayer in the First Hour we feel the need to ask Christ: "O Christ, the true Light, which illumines and sanctifies every man who comes into the world! Let the light of Your countenance be shown upon us, that in it we may behold the light ineffable." Continual ascent and evolution are needed.

The "Ecclesiastical" Theory of Evolution

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

The Church Fathers, when speaking of the Transfiguration of Christ and the partaking of divine glory, speak of the personal ascent on the mount of the vision of God. It is the constant cry of the Church: "Make Thine everlasting light shine forth also upon us sinners." And in a related prayer in the First Hour we feel the need to ask Christ: "O Christ, the true Light, which illumines and sanctifies every man who comes into the world! Let the light of Your countenance be shown upon us, that in it we may behold the light ineffable." Continual ascent and evolution are needed.

The Mysteries of the Universe

By His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos

of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The discovery of the Higgs boson gave an opportunity for newspapers and magazines to interview scientists and to popularize our knowledge of the world and the universe.

Such an interview was given by the eminent physicist and astronomer Dionysios Simopoulos, director of the Eugenides Planetarium in Athens, who has received many honorary distinctions. We will mention below certain points from this interview about our mysterious universe.

Scientists and the Fathers of the Church

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

The Fathers of the Church studied the creation of the cosmos with a theological purpose. They renounced both materialism and metaphysics. Thus, the two philosophical orientations “in the beginning was matter” and “in the beginning was the idea” was contrasted with “in the beginning was the Word”. God is a person, He is love, because love is an uncreated energy of God. Therefore God is neither an idea nor matter. Later they say that God created the cosmos “out of nothing”, “without the existence of matter” but with His word which is His uncreated energy, which creates created beings.

Metropolitan Hierotheos on Theology and Science

By His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos
of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Before elaborating on the topic I would like to point out that when I use the term “theology” I mean the Orthodox patristic theology, as preserved in the Orthodox Church, not the Scholastic and Protestant theology developed in the West. In elaborating the topic, I will briefly mention some points that I consider important.