Archimandrite Bartholomew, Professor of the Holy Monastery of Esfigmenos, spoke on the front page about the situation surrounding the pandemic and the role of the Church.
Introductory, he said that as a society we have been diligently hiding the lack of communication and dialogue for so many years. "There is no communication, people can not find them, there is no dialogue. "Now a pandemic has come and brought it all to the surface."
He further added that "the issue of the pandemic is purely medical. The evolution and the way it was treated by the people also made the issue spiritual. They showed people how to deal with a difficult situation.
These anti-vaccination movements, if we look at them in history, have existed in every period. When science gave a new drug or vaccine they reacted. "What would we do today if they prevailed?"
He stated that "our faith is not altered, our faith is consolidated. "The good God enlightens some who work day and night for the good of humanity in terms of evolution and quality of life."
"The Church has an important role to play in society. Its main role, the only role it has in society is to be able to enlighten man. To illuminate what he does not see. The ones that torment him spiritually. To give him the strength to cope with the various difficulties. Essentially to give him the strength to be convinced that he has to fight himself. There are no magic wands. we have to fight individually and as a whole. We are all cogs of society. "Everyone on their part must work separately," he added.
"The decisions that come out of the church that we as believers must follow. Everyone, whether a hierarch, or a priest, or a monk who comes out and says something is a personal opinion. This phenomenon that we observe today due to the power of the internet is wrong. Not every person can be autonomous in the Church. There is no autonomy but a common course through the Synodal bodies.
It is legitimate for me to express my opinion. "Imposing it is wrong," he stressed. He went on to say that "the mistake is that they take advantage of the robe they wear and try to impose their point of view by caping the view of the Church.
It is legitimate for me as a clergyman to have my point of view and not to believe the pandemic despite the victims and to insist. "I'm accused of trying to seduce people by taking advantage of the race."
Speaking about the situation that prevails on Mount Athos, he said that in the Monastery everyone did the 3rd installment. "There is a recession on Mount Athos, but many have left and it is a pity. People left who had no reason to leave.
There is a concern, we come in contact with people when we go out, people come here. If we do not keep the basic measures, unfortunately we will all get stuck. When left unmanaged, they can be left astray and lose the right path. "The issue is whether we all get stuck going through it painlessly," he said.
The entire Archimandrite hospitality in the video below.