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In the late afternoon, a telephone conversation took place between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Archbishop Ieronymos.
In the conversation that took place in a very warm atmosphere, the Prime Minister thanked the Archbishop for the important help that he and the Church have provided in the collective effort to face the pandemic. Their conversation lasted about 15 minutes and the prime minister asked about the health of the archbishop who had recently contracted a coronavirus and how he was returning to his duties.
He also informed the Archbishop about the epidemiological data throughout the country and they discussed the issue of the functioning of the churches during the Christmas holidays in the very special conditions that prevail this year.
According to ecclesiastical circles, the possibility was discussed that with mutual concessions from both sides and in the context of coexistence, a common component should be found so as not to divide the people but not to endanger the health of the people.
In this climate of consensus, the Prime Minister left open the possibility of opening churches for individual worship from next Monday, December 21 to January 6.
According to the same circles, there is no disagreement on Christmas for the rolling services to be even 4 to serve more believers and 2 rolling the Epiphany, where the holy water can be doled out in a bottle and in a reward package. While it was agreed not to sanctify the water outdoors to avoid co-painting.
Finally, the possibility of a Divine Liturgy in the New Year of Saint Basil remains open.
On the issue of the presence of the faithful, the Archbishop asked the Prime Minister to lift the restriction of 9 faithful in the temples and 25 in the metropolises and to have an arrangement according to the squares, that is, a faithful if 10 m2 and no are over 40.
For all issues, but especially for the issue of the faithful, the Prime Minister referred to the decisions of the Committee of Experts that the government will follow and asked the Church to strictly observe them, taking all protective measures.
This new proposal will be debated on Tuesday by the synods that will be invited to take a position.
Source: skai.gr
