UOC Hierarch about quarantine and Eucharist: There's a line to be drawn

Chancellor of the UOC Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary. Photo: a screenshot of the video on “Lavra. The Way of Salvation” YouTube-channel

Believers must comply with quarantine requirements, however, it is important to remember that there is a certain thing the Church should never cross over, explained the UOC Chancellor, Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) of Boryspil and Brovary. 

“The Church draws a certain line. We cannot agree with the forces persuading us that it is possible to get infected through the Eucharist. If a person thinks so, then he is simply an unbeliever,” he said in an interview with the “Lavra. The Way of Salvation" You-tube channel.

There is no Church without the Eucharist, Metropolitan Anthony emphasized.

He urged the flock to take care of their health and not to put others at risk.

“If a person feels unwell and this is connected with an infectious disease, I think that a person should be sensible not to go out but stay and pray at home. It’s not about idle staying, because life without prayer is impossible,” said the hierarch of the UOC. “Prayer is the breath of the life of the soul, including the body, because man is saved wholesome.”

Bishop Anthony recalled that there are no catastrophes in the church consciousness, the only possible catastrophe for a believer being falling away from God and from the Church.

“Another point is that in light of this restriction (not to go to the temple if one is sick – Ed.) we can hear an opinion that one can save his soul without a temple. This is also a false message, with which we cannot agree,” the hierarch explained. “Because the temple is the place of God's special presence, it is the concentration of God's grace where the Sacraments are performed.”

Vladyka Anthony underscored the fact that the Church is called to always be the voice of eternity and give people strength for transfiguration and achievement of eternal life.

He urged believers to refrain from panic and explained that self-restraint is good for saving the soul.

“Self-restraint will be beneficial, because panic is always a manifestation of the lack of faith. We must always understand this. Besides, panic is probably not the best friend when you need to take some right step and solve some problem. In a state of panic, a person loses benchmarks,” concluded Metropolitan Anthony.

Earlier, he invited the flock to read psalm 95 during the coronavirus pandemic, which helps to overcome fear and panic.

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