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Interview with Hierotheos, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and St. Vlasios
to the "Church Intervention" for the coronavirus epidemic (covid-19) (14-3-2020)
Translated into English from the original article in Greek: Κορωνοϊός καί Ἐκκλησία
1. Question: What is the coronavirus (covid-19)?
Answer: It is a virus which, like many other viruses, consists of RNA, and uses the structure of cells to function. It
is known that the genetic information from the DNA, which is in the
nucleus of the cell, is transcribed to the RNA, which is transferred to
cytoplasm, and is then translated into proteins. This transcription and
translation is the central doctrine of biology. Α virus looks like a
hijacker, who does not have his own airplane, he does not know how to
pilot and uses the aircraft's instruments and the pilot, for his own
purpose.
2. Question: Why so much fear of the coronavirus?
Answer:
There are many viruses, such as AIDS, hepatitis, influenza, Embola,
SARS, etc., for whom science has found ways to confront them. When in
the early ‘90s the problem with the AIDS virus erupted, humanity
panicked, and especially in Greece the National Commission to deal with
AIDS was established, which became the KEEL (Center for Special
Infectious Diseases Control). I was the Representative of the Church of
Greece in that Commission and I had followed all the ways of dealing
with the issues related to infections. I even wrote a book entitled
"AIDS, A Way of Life". The
coronavirus surprised the scientific community, which hopefully will
soon cope with it scientifically. Until then we need attention and
prayer.
3. Question: How do you justify the coronavirus-induced panic?
Answer:
Indeed, apart from the coronavirus, there is also a panic virus that
humanities and social sciences and psychology speak about. Panic
is explained by what I said earlier, but at the same time it is due to
the fear of death. Man loves life, he wants to live as far as possible
and is afraid of death. So this is the so-called panic of death. That is
not only the case with corona virus now, but it has always been so when
death approaches us in a variety of ways.
The fear
of death is linked to every illness, which challenges man and leads him
to the border of death. Heidegger has emphasized that man operates in
two ways, first in the so-called everyday way, linked to power,
authority, health, social activity, and secondly, in the so-called
existential way, linked to the coming of illnesses and the approach to
death.
When
someone is admitted to the hospital, because of a disease, existential
questions start immediately, such as the question of the meaning of life
and the meaning of death. Various thoughts start operating in him and
literally torment him, about who is responsible for the situation in
which he arrived at and, consequently, he is preoccupied with the
so-called "borderline moments of his life”existential philosophy and
existential psychology speak about. That is why we must deal with the
patient not only physically, but in his fullness.
4. Question: What is death, after all?
Answer:
Death is not just what happens at the end of biological life. It is
corruptibility and mortality that are inherent in our biological
organism from the beginning of our conception. Molecular
biology has shown that within the approximately 25,000 genes in the
human cell, from the first moment of fertilization of the ovum, there
are also the mechanisms of aging and death, and also the genes of
diseases. Therefore, from the very
first moment of human conception, before the stem cells differentiate,
before the tissues and organs are created, before the embryonic body is
formed, the mecahnisms of aging and death and the genes of diseases are
already present. This means that death is a biological and psychological
“burden” that we carry from the very first moment of our conception and
this causesprogressivedeath crises in our lives.
5. Question: How should we deal with the coronavirus problem?
Answer:
The answer involves many levels. Science is doing its duty, and I
believe that we will have hopeful developments in this area. The State,
with its institutions, is trying to restrict the dissemination of the
virus, because it cares about man, the citizen, and also because it is
interested in how the health system copeswith such a great “war attack”,
because this is really an internal war. And citizens must deal with it
on a personal level, that is, beyond discipline in the decisions of the
responsible bodies, they must behave responsibly in the face of the
so-called panic of death. Of
course, at this critical time, we must stand with respect and honor to
the doctors and nursing staff who work with responsibility, knowledge
and bravery.
6. Question: How do we deal with patients and society at large which suffer from existential questions?
Answer:
I have already emphasized that the State with its institutions is
taking the necessary decisions to safeguard the population. But that is
not enough, because man is not a machine, not even a machine with a
soul, but he is a beingpreoccupied with the meaning of life and the
meaning of existence. Many times he wonders what the purpose
ofprotecting himself from a disease is, when lifehas no meaning for him.
Such attitude is often expressed by drug addicts when they are advised
to take care of themselves and they reply: "I do not want to take care
of myself, because for me it does not make sense to live".
Thus, one
cannot deal with such situations only by measures that are directed at
the human body, as if man were just a biological machine;instead, both
psychological and spiritual support is needed. We already know that
while we were going through the economic crisis, many politicians and
economists were saying that the economy also needed a proper psychology
in order to rebound. And I ask: If the economy wants its psychology,
does the disease not need existential psychology to deal with? Victor
Frankl has emphasized that human beings are concerned about the “tragic
trinity”, that is, pain, guilt and death. Therefore, all forms of
science must deal with the problem that has emerged so that that manis
not considered only a biological machine.
7. Question: How do you view the Church's response to the problem that has arisen?
Answer:
I think the Church has reacted and reacts with great temper and this is
related to the fact that it has a very long two thousand years'
experience, while the [Greek] State has only a two-hundred years’
experience. Thus, the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, the Church of Greece, the Church of Crete, as well as
other Churches, reacted with responsibility and seriousness, because
they view man as being in the image and likeness of God, who definitely
has biological needs, but above all, has psychological and spiritual
needs and all issues are addressed through these needs.
8. Question: What is the Church's centuries-long experience of which you speak?
Answer:
As you know over the centuries many illnesses have appeared, while
science was not as developed as it is today. So, the Church has always
taken the necessary measures to deal with physical ailments, but also to
satisfy the spiritual and eternal needs of each human being. Take,
for example, leprosy. It was a terrible illness, which was incurable
and contagious for centuries and they removed the sick from society and
put them in "social quarantine". The
Fathers of the Church showed particular care not only for the treatment
of the disease, but also for the treatment of the patientssuffering
from it and showed special love to them. Let me remind you of St. Basil
the Great, who in the “Basileias”had a place for the lepers, when
leprosy was considered contagious, and heused to embrace the lepers
himself, to show them his love. I
believe that beyond the coronavirus and any virus there is ahuman being
with his existential and spiritual problems and his eternal searches,
and this is why I am troubled by the virus of social racism and the
virus of panic. Carl Jaspers has emphasized that generally people, and especially the sick ones, need "existential communication".
9. Question:
Lately there has been a lot of discussion about restricting church
services, and especially about restricting the partaking of the Holy
Communion. What is your opinion?
Answer:
First of all, I would like to say that the Church functioned and
functions in a coordinated way. We have an 'Ecclesiastical Leadership'
which is the Permanent Holy Synod, chaired by His Beatitude Hieronymus,
Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, which I think deals with the issue
with responsibility and soberness. We, especially Bishops and Clergy,
should above all listen to it, and not run ahead or differentiate
ourselves from it, because the Church is not an uncoordinated body, it
has its organs which decide on the issues that emerge. I
said earlier that the Church has a long experience of two thousand
years in dealing with such issues. Thus, it recommended that we listen
to the specialists and the official bodies of the State dealing with
this matter, it decided to suspend its pastoral activity, it advised the
confinement of the elderly and those with frail health to their homes,
but leaves open in various ways the window of communication of human
beings with God.
Just as we
need to ventilate our home, that is, to open the windows to refresh the
air and to bring the sun in, similarly the Church is a window into our
lives, which refreshes polluted air, allows us to see farther away and
to bringanother sun in our lives, which will kill the spiritual germs
and the spiritual viruses. Regarding
the Holy Communion, again the Church has a long experience. In
scientific issues the great value of the bibliography for dealing with
them is emphasized, similarly the Church has its own "bibliography",
which says that with the Holy Communion Christ is offeredWho is the
eternal life and cures people’s spiritual illnessesand sometimes
physical ailments as well. No one can force the church to deny its
identity.
10. Question:
How do yousee some views arguing that the Church should recommend to
people not to come to the Holy Communion for fear of transmitting the
coronavirus?
Answer:
The church always recommends that those who want to receive Holy
Communionshould do so under the conditions included in the exhortation:
"With the fear of God, faith, and love, draw near." Nothing is done in
the Church without some preconditions. Personally, I have seen that in
recent years many people have been receiving communion without keeping
the proper conditions, which are repentance, confession, fasting, and
this has saddened me. I therefore urge Christians not to receive
communion without the necessary ecclesiastical conditions. Nevertheless,
as I said earlier, Priests give the Holy Communionto the people, the
sick without thinking that they are transmitting diseases to
thosereceiving communion, or that they themselves will receive some
diseases from the Body of Christ. Examples are the churches in
Hospitals, in which healthy and sick people all receive the same Body
and Blood of Christ, in spite of the various viruses and microbes
around. We observe the same, and
this is something everyone used to praise so far, that the Priests have
been working pastorally and giving communion in the sanatoriums and
hospitals of infectious diseases and other places, such as in
Spinalonga. I do not understand what has changed since then.
11. Question:
There are some who argue that the fearregardingthe holy Communion has
nothing to do with the faith or lack of faith of Christians. What do you
say about that?
Answer:
All issues of our lives and the way we deal with them are related to
faith, and they all show how much one really believes in God. Love is
inextricably linked to faith, that is, there exists no love without
faith and no faith without love. But the Church tackles all issues in a
pastoral manner, it employs either “accuracy” or “economy” and,
certainly, repentance is an element of Orthodox ethic.
12. Question: What is your final view on the subject that has arisen?
Answer:
I think we need calmness, sobriety and seriousness, and everything will
find their way. The virus of panic and the so-called "paranoivirus" are
worse than the coronavirus. The Holy Synod will take the proper
decisions depending on the evolution of the issue, but beyond the
necessary precautions, we need faith in God's Providence.