Government decisions in Greece on how cathedrals and chapels will hold Holy services during Easter week and Holy Pascha – Easter Sunday – which falls on May 2, are expected in the coming period.
The faithful in the predominately Christian Orthodox country want to avoid, at all costs, scenes from last Easter, when places of worship were closed to worshippers due to the pandemic, and when the Resurrection was celebrated in homes.
It’s amid this situation that members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece remotely convened on Tuesday, with Hierarchs discussing ongoing pandemic-related restrictions amid Holy and Great Lent, and ahead of Easter Sunday. The two-day sessions will conclude on Wednesday.
The Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos, is expected to brief members of the standing Holy Synod over his discussions with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis late last month.
According to reports, hierarchs are concerned over possible restrictions during Good Friday and Holy Saturday, as a portion of the evening services are customarily held outdoors.
