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Thursday, December 24, 2020, 00:02
Eurokinissi
Behind Closed Doors and without the presence of believers, all the Divine Liturgies of Christmas, New Year and Epiphany will be held in the area of the Regional Drama Unit, according to an announcement issued by the Holy Diocese of Drama, despite the fact that according to the new Official Gazette the presence of a certain number of people in the churches.
Drama’s most respected metropolitan, Mr. Pavlos, however, decided that churches should remain closed to the faithful and that worship services should take place only with the necessary presence of clergy and singers. “This decision is not easy. It hurts me more than anyone. But, on the other hand, we have to face reality head-on. And, in fact, with the required seriousness,” he told liberal.gr and added that in the prefecture 200 people have lost their lives to the coronavirus.
The Metropolitan of Drama explained the reasons for this decision, highlighting that the epidemiological data is extremely aggravating.
Interview with Vassilis Galoupis
– How did you come to this decision? Is it a question of epidemiological burden in Drama?
This decision is not easy. It hurts me more than anyone. But, on the other hand, we have to face reality head-on. And, in fact, with the required seriousness. Drama prefecture, as you may well know, is among the 10 “red” prefectures. Apart from that, so far we have exceeded 200 deaths. The 140 in the Drama hospital and the rest in the regional hospitals, while one had ended up in Athens which had been transported by C-130.
– Therefore, the epidemiological burden played the main role …
The epidemiological burden in our prefecture is very high. And in fact, in proportion to the population, it is very high in Drama, as measured by fellow journalists. Drama ranks second across Europe. The capital is a city of Belgium. This problem is very serious and we have to see how we deal with it.
– What’s the weather like in Drama?
It is not the best And if we consider that here in our border area we have a special cold, it is difficult for the elderly to go out to church in the morning and find the door closed. And in addition, another pain will be created. I can’t do that to people.
That is why we decided, after consulting with the priests of the metropolis, that the best solution is to perform the sacred services of the festivals ourselves as we perform them. And from 8 in the morning the temples must be open if a Christian wants to come to light a candle, get the antidote of the day and go to the prayer of Christ and the Virgin without creating problems of overcrowding.
– Did you have any reaction when you announced your decision? Were some surprised?
I have not performed any reaction measurements. I think most of us, because we live in trouble and 200 houses in Drama cry because they have lost their people, we hear it make sense. Now there are some people who see things differently and may judge differently. And I think these people, because they don’t know how things are, maybe that’s why they express a negative opinion. On the other hand, how can a believer say that I will go in and take someone else’s place? This is not very Christian.
It scares me that because everyone will go through these days in relative relaxation and, oh no wonder if there is an increase in cases after twelve days, there are also the usual enemies of the church who will rush to load the increase in cases in church. I’m not doing you this favor, at least in the drama area.
