NEA YORK – Archbishop Elpidophoros of America made an appeal
through a video posted on the Archdiocese website encouraging the
faithful of the Greek-Orthodox Archdiocese throughout the United States
to stay at home and not to forget that they are not alone. In his
message the Archbishop also invited the faithful to donate blood to
mitigate serious shortages that have emerged during the pandemic.
The Archbishop kept his promise to the faithful that he would
continue to be in touch with them through videos and daily messages via
social media.
He sympathized with people who feel deprived of Holy Communion, but
suggested the crisis offers the faithful a new perspective on the
Eucharist.
“It is time to receive Holy Communion differently. Let us become Holy
Communion ourselves and save the world with our own blood.”
The full message of the Archbishop follows:
“My brothers and sisters, we are living in difficult times. One of
our great difficulties is the deprivation of Holy Communion, our
abstinence from the Eucharist.
“We have been enjoying our participation in this sacred mystery all
this time and we are grateful to belong to the Church, which is the body
of Christ, of which we are all members. Now it is the time to receive
Holy Communion differently. Let us become the body of Christ and Holy
Communion ourselves in order to save the world with our own blood this
time. Let us now donate our blood to our fellow human beings. Let us
donate our blood to save people’s lives. We will become blood donors,
plasma donors. Let us show our gratitude to God.
“This is also a sacred mystery. It is a mystery of love and
self-sacrifice in favor of our fellow human beings who are suffering.”