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Dr Ioannis N. Grigoriadis is associate professor and Jean Monnet Chair at the Department of Political Science & Public Administration, Bilkent University in Ankara and senior research fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).
The Covid-19 pandemic has not only
exposed the vulnerability of the international order and the
interdependence between states and peoples across the globe. It has also
served as a yardstick for the performance of states, international
organizations and institutions, which responded to the crisis with
variable success rates. The decision of the Greek government to take
early and concerted measures paid off, and Greece emerged as one of the
role model countries with the most effective response to the crisis,
generating much-needed positive publicity in the international media.
Following a decade of deep economic, political and social crisis, Greece
was no more the bete noire of the West. In the crucial first weeks of
March, however, when the Greek government was taking early bold steps to
stem the spread of the virus, including restricting attendance of
religious services, its policy found a strong supporter in the
Ecumenical Patriarchate. Restrictions to religious services raised
sensitive questions about balancing religious freedom and public health
and stirred identity politics in Greece as in many countries around the
world. The question of church attendance appeared as a litmus test for
the government’s ability to implement its anti-Covid-19 pandemic plans.
The Patriarchate’s support proved crucial, given the ambivalent position
of the Church of Greece.
As the Church of Greece appeared split, with several bishops opposing
restrictions to mass attendance and accusing the government of
persecuting Christianity, the Ecumenical Patriarchate took the
initiative and framed the incipient debate. With a video message on
March 18, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios fully endorsed social
distancing measures and framed his position on a sound theological
basis: Observing social distancing measures was not a violation but a
realization of God’s will. Science and faith were not juxtaposed but
stood on the same side of the struggle against the Covid-19.
“In this struggle, our appointed states, governments and appropriate
health authorities have the primary responsibility for planning,
confronting and overcoming this crisis…. Therefore, our dear children,
we entreat you as your spiritual father to respond faithfully and
patiently to all the difficult but necessary measures proposed by our
health authorities and nations. Everything is being done for our
protection, for our common good, in order to contain the spread of this
virus. Our liberation from this distress depends entirely on our own
cooperation. Perhaps some of you have felt that these drastic measures
undermine or harm our faith. However, that which is at stake is not our
faith – it is the faithful. It is not Christ – it is our Christians. It
is not the divine-man – but human beings. Our faith is firmly
established in the roots of our culture. Our faith is a living faith,
and there is no exceptional circumstance that can limit or suppress it.
What must be limited and suppressed in these extraordinary circumstances
are gatherings and large congregations of people. Let us remain in our
homes. Let us be careful and protect those around us. And there, from
our homes, strengthened by the power of our spiritual unity, let each
and every one of us pray for all humankind.… We are certain that,
through our prayers as well, science will indeed prevail,” he said in a
message.
The Patriarchate’s adamant position proved decisive in convincing the
Church of Greece to side with the government and helped the Greek
government insist on a seemingly unpopular position to restrict
religious services even during the Holy Week and Easter. In a letter
Patriarch Vartholomaios sent on May 17 to the primates of the Orthodox
churches, he invited them to share their views on the question of
delivering Holy Communion under Covid-19 restrictions. After noting that
many unprecedented views were heard on how to offer the Holy Communion
to the faithful, he added that Orthodox primates could not remain
indifferent to this. He also added that the Orthodox Church had been
abiding by the guidelines given by health and political authorities and
that it would continue to do so, provided that the essence of the
Orthodox faith was respected.
His argument was further developed by Archbishop Elpidophoros of
America. Based in New York, one of the harshest-hit cities by Covid-19,
Elpidophoros tackled arguably the most sensitive issue regarding
religious service restrictions, the Holy Communion.
“What is more important for all of us? The Communion, the Body, and
Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, or the way we receive the Body and
Blood? The answer is easy. It’s not the way; it’s the Communion itself
that saves us and gives us Eternal Life,” Elpidophoros wrote in the
Orthodox Times.
This was not the first time that the Ecumenical Patriarchate took a
public position characterized by responsibility and reason. Its
circumspect position regarding state-church relations might have been
influenced by the caution with which the Patriarchate has managed its
precarious relationship with the Republic of Turkey. Yet there is
certainly more than that. Throughout his tenure, Patriarch Vartholomaios
has put forward an agenda that bridged Christian values with some of
the most important debates within post-industrial Western societies. His
strong engagement with environmental issues, long before climate change
and decarbonization became top items in the global agenda, increased
the international legitimacy of the Patriarchate, winning sympathies
beyond its traditional constituency, among liberal progressive circles
and the global civil society. The Patriarchate’s stance on key issues of
Greek foreign policy, with reference to Turkey and beyond, favored
moderation and conflict resolution, being in stark contrast with the
mainstream nationalist and recalcitrant positions of the Church of
Greece, especially under Archbishop Christodoulos. Keeping the Orthodox
Church aloof from conspiracy theories, far-right xenophobic and racist
political views and reconfirming that it endorses science and its
recommendations for deterring the Covid-19 threat, because it stands on
the side of life against death, did not only reinforce the appeal of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate among Greeks across the political spectrum, in
Greece and in the diaspora. It also helped governments across the planet
in their fight against the pandemic. By reminding the fundamentals of
Christian faith and helping save lives across the globe, the Ecumenical
Patriarchate reconfirmed that leading by example is also the wisest way
to accumulate soft power within Greece, the Greek diaspora and on a
global level.
Dr Ioannis N. Grigoriadis is associate professor and Jean Monnet Chair at the Department of Political Science & Public Administration, Bilkent University in Ankara and senior research fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP
