Church of Greece defers Passover celebration
Archbishop Hieronymos. Photo: orthodox times
On April 1, 2020 the Synod of the Hellenic Orthodox Church decided to postpone the celebration of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, reports Ecclesia.gr website.
The fifth paragraph of the synodal decree states: "We wish and pray that soon the danger will pass, so that all of us (clergy and laity) would be able to celebrate the Bright Resurrection of our Lord together with a festive Sunday service during the Leavetaking of Pascha, i.e. on the night of Tuesday 26 to Wednesday 27 May 2020."
In addition, the synodals called upon all members of the Church of Greece to pray fervently in their homes: "Make yourselves an altar, sacrificing with love your presence in the holy temple and your partaking of the Eucharist for the sake of all your brothers who are the living altars of God.”
They also assured that the priests will at this time "serve unpretentiously 'behind the closed doors', without loudspeakers or the solemn bell ringing, no matter how much difficult and distressing it may be for us, for 'the life and salvation of the world', for 'those afflicted', doctors and nurses and all volunteers who, in the spirit of sacrifice, give themselves to protect the lives of many people and public health.”
Earlier, the UOJ wrote that the GOC Synod had asked the Greek authorities to allow the services of Holy Week and Easter behind the closed doors.
Read also
Political expert: Declaring January 7 as Programmer’s Day resembles mockery
Kostiantyn Bondarenko commented on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to designate a new professional holiday on the day when Christmas is celebrated.
Cherkasy court accuses Metropolitan Theodosiy of “improper sermon”
At another court hearing in the case of Metropolitan Theodosiy, an expert attempted to argue that there had been no violent seizure of the monastery in Cherkasy and that the alleged crime was committed by the Cherkasy hierarch through an “improper” sermon.
Catherine Whiteford discusses defense of UOC with Congressman Riley Moore
An American political figure spoke about a meeting that addressed the protection of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and freedom of religion.
7-meter didukh to replace Christmas tree installed on Maidan
According to KSCA representatives, "the didukh, unlike the borrowed Christmas tree, is a traditional pre-Christian symbol of ancient Ukrainians".
Patriarch of Bulgaria: OCU will not take part in services at Phanar
The Bulgarian Patriarch emphasized that the OCU is not mentioned in the diptychs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and will not participate in joint services at the Phanar.
SBU shows what to do with those who celebrate Christmas on January 7
The video of the SBU features its employees breaking down the apartment doors with the comment: "Who comes 'caroling' to those who celebrate Christmas on January 7."