.png "English"){kind=small}
Serbian Patriarchate
16. March 2020 - 13:54
From the Office of the Holy Synod of Bishops
Communique of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church
The
Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church has been closely and
carefully following up the daily news and statements of those in charge
of the Church, the State, and the medical profession about the
increasing spread coronoviral infection that is dangerous to health -
and in many cases, to life itself – to life of millions of people.
To
all those who fight this plague, especially to physicians and other
medical staff, the Holy Synod expresses our deepest gratitude and
reverence for the day and night efforts in the prevention and
suppression of the epidemic and calls upon them God’s blessing. At the
same time, the Holy Synod expresses our condolenceto the families,
relatives and friends of victimsof the fatal virus.
By
serving to God, the Church has always served for salvation and for
every benefit of our faithful as well as of all other people, our
neighbors, and especially in these difficult days.
Having respect
for the importance and achievements of medicine that is considered to
be a great gift of God and a great human endeavor, the Church offers its
faithful a unique remedy for immortality, the Holy Communion, as well
as the blessing of her holy Sacraments and of her entire
sacramental treasury.
The Holy Synod calls upon all the faithful
of our Church for responsibility and sobriety in this situation and
urges them not to neglect the instructions of the medical services and
state authorities and not to neglect or ignore the prescribed preventive
measures - in one word, not to endanger themselves or the others. There
is no space, however, for panic and rumors.
At the same time, the
Holy Synod emphasizes that the Lord is our Hope and our Savior
in every distress, and therefore we should multiply our sincere prayers
for the sick, and especially for the doctors and other medical staff,
who selflessly do all they can, often exposing themselves to the
dangers, which is also a form of worship and selfless service to the
human race. It is up to us as Christians and human beings to do all that
is right for us, believing and knowing from the Holy Scriptures that
everything is possible for God, even overcoming natural laws and
unnatural processes.
Let us lift up our hearts! May we have trust in our doctors and, above all, in our Lord, the Healer of our souls and our bodies!From the Office of the Holy Synod of Bishops
