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Kastoria Metropolitan Seraphim, who tested positive for the coronavirus in early December, has passed away.
The 61-year-old metropolitan had been diagnosed positive for the virus in early December and had been transferred to 424 GSNE, while on December 20, about a week ago, the doctors who treated him considered his intubation necessary.
The Metropolitan Blessed of Kastoria Seraphim (according to Ioannis Papakostas) was born in 1959 in Agnantero, Karditsa and studied at the Rizareio Ecclesiastical School in Athens, at the Higher Ecclesiastical School where he graduated in 1983.
The death of the metropolitan of Kastoria Hypertimos and exarch of Upper Macedonia has plunged the entire region into grief.
In his speech, entitled “I am worried …” the Metropolitan, among other things, said on December 3: “I am, therefore, in favor of the measures, as I said before, because we must protect the health of man, the health of each one of us. That is why I recommend without reservation everything that scientists propose to us today, but I want to say that I want our temples to be open “, so that a fissure of hope remains open in us. Some light. Your oxygen. “Our divine worship is much more necessary than the oxygen of our breath. I want the temples to remain open. Our people demand it because they cannot do Christmas with closed temples.”
Seraphim’s article in detail
I worry about what is happening in our place.
I am concerned about the terrorism and fear that freethinkers and ruthless exert in the heart of a Greek Orthodox.
And who does not care these days, the uninvited visitor, the virus, which has struck the arrogance of all of us, the eye of the powerful of the earth and even this science? He came to remind us how weak we are and how small we are in the eyes of God. We can do absolutely nothing without his presence in our lives: “Without me, you can do nothing”[1].
I am concerned to see the police guarding the huge St. Andrew’s Church in Patras, so that no one will come near the day of the feast of the First Called Apostle, which is so reverently honored in the capital of the Peloponnese. I wondered if they would arrest the apostle, who has been the chief of Patras for so many years and who saved his sacred heritage, the city that he martyred and has as a precious treasure his tomb and his elegant chariot, from many difficulties and strong earthquakes, praying to the Christ Despot for his children? This is how Saint Paisios saw him, kneeling on the throne of the Despot Christ, pleading with him for Patras and the people of Patras. “They are my children,” he said, “and please help them.” This, in fact, he said himself to the blessed Metropolitan of Patras, Mr. Nikodemos.
I wonder when the Church is overlooked and, in fact, worship is placed even below the daily habits of every human being. We can walk, we can visit supermarkets, we can play sports, we can walk our pet, but we cannot go to church. We cannot share the eternal mysteries. We cannot ingest the immortal food, the Body and Blood of Christ. But man is ambiguous and dualistic! It consists of matter and spirit, and the spirit is nourished with immortal food and is animated by the grace of God.
The Church is for the life of Christians, which is a hospital or a sanitarium for the life of the sick. In fact, Saint John Chrysostom calls it “the great, wonderful and spacious inn”[2]. And just as there are doctors, nurses and patients in the hospital, so it is in the Church.
There are doctors, pastors of the Church, who handle the art of medicine and, with the grace of the Holy Mysteries, provide healing of the soul and body to those who seek it. This means something very important, that is, that they know what health is, are themselves healthy and provide health to patients. If there is no health in them, they cannot pass it on, so they can cure it. There are nurses who help doctors in the work of treatment, there are also patients who request treatment.
Can we close a hospital?
Can we bomb a hospital?
Of course, I am directly in favor: I am in favor of measures to protect human health. I have recommended countless times to uncritical people in Kastoria to stay away from crowds, to wear the mask, which is recommended by infectious disease specialists such as p. Ex. The excellent Mrs. Giamarellou, even recommended, when the Churches were open, that distances be strictly observed.
I also wonder why in Cyprus, in England, in France, in the Netherlands, in Poland, in European countries, that is, with many of them having a heavier burden than ours, according to the statements of scientists but also the assumption of the Greek government, places of worship are not closed or open with restrictions. The same is true in the United States, according to a recent Supreme Court decision. Isn’t the effortless performance of religious duties constitutionally guaranteed in Greece?
I am even more concerned about these people who suffer. Painful, unemployed, poor, he has nowhere to touch, he is waiting for a break. Wait for a reason, a consolation, especially in these great days of our faith. Visit the temples, participate in the sacred services and not attend them, because this is not a theater as many think, but an experiential participation in despotic events, which are celebrated by our Church, our people, this small entrance. After all, the Church was never on the side of many, but of a few, in the words of Christ: “Do not fear the little flock.”[3]. This little flock seeks to receive the much needed grace of God and, indeed, the Body and Blood of Christ, which renews the existence of man.
I worry when I hear that the Church is to blame for everything. The one that until today offered everything for its people. We want the Church to have no voice, to have no voice, to exercise only its charity and ministry to the human factor, as it has applied every year since its foundation and especially today, with thousands of meals and innumerable aid. We recognize it only for this and we want it only for this, so that the rulers do not count those who serve their work with prudence and precision. Do they prefer not to have a voice, not to be heard, like the other classes of our people and to be characterized as “little people”?
It worries me to see people in Romania and other countries, even in parts inside and outside the temples, praying and asking for God’s mercy. May the holy relics also be liturgized and prayed to the Holy God, to the bishops and elders, for the salvation of the people of God. Would it matter if the temples were open as is the case in other states, with all the measures that the state provides to prevent the transmission of this contagious disease?
Have we thought about what is happening in the homes of our people, psychological problems, domestic violence and all those consequences? Do we still forget about suicides? Are we not aware of the effort that the bishops and the elders of the Church make to keep these suffering people calm and avoid unpleasant situations? I used to tell a high official of the state, some time ago, that we should not rely only on the offer of material goods from the Church, but mainly on spiritual goods, because the Church with the Sacrament of Confession gives peace, balance and adaptability to people’s hearts.
Therefore, I am in favor of the measures, as I said before, because we must protect human health, the health of each one of us. That is why I fully recommend everything that scientists propose to us today. However, I want to say that I want our temples to be open “so that a crack of hope remains open within us. A little light. The oxygen of our divine worship is much more necessary than the oxygen of breath.”[4]. I want the temples to stay open. Our people demand it, because they cannot do Christmas with closed temples …
For us, the temple is not an ordinary place like other places, but a place dedicated to God, who has God as its indweller and is rich in the presence of his grace. That is why Saint John of Kronstadt will say that the Church is the school of faith and worship founded by God himself. The soul inside the temple softens with the prayer of the whole night and the tears that run from our eyes. Inside the holy temple we make ourselves a temple of the Holy Spirit with prayers, God’s words and mysteries[5].
I am worried, but I hope!
I am worried, but not desperate!
I worry and hope …
Saint Gregory the Theologian reveals it even today: “The good flows, the bad naked, the sailor in the night, the torch of no one, Christ goes”[6]. Christ is leading, Christ is waiting for our repentance to stop the storm. Wait for the courage of faith to hear His command word: “Shut up, I swear”[7]…
[1] John 15.5.
[2] Saint John Chrysostom, In the parable of the one who falls on the lists, Ltd.
[3] Λκ. 12.32.
[4] Text of the Metropolitan of Mesogaia, “Closed temples threaten the faithful. Open all viruses “,
[5] Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Agios Vlasios Hierotheos, The Seer, edited by the Holy Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin (Pelagia), 1st edition, 1991, p.85.
[6] Saint Gregory the Theologian, Letter 80, Rhetoric of Eudoxius, PG 37, 153.
[7] Mrk. 4.39.
Source: skai.gr
