FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 6, 2020

Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and the Eparchial Synod issue Guidelines on Covid-19 (Coronavirus)

New York, NY – His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and the Most Reverend Members of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, have issued guidelines to the Clergy and Laity of the Archdiocese to face the outbreak of the Coronavirus, Covid-19, that has spread throughout the world.

Recognizing that this outbreak impacts not only on the most vulnerable members of the community, but upon all people, the Archbishop and the Eparchial Synod have issued an Encyclical (www.goarch.org/-/encyclical-covid-19-pandemic) containing guidelines (www.goarch.org/-/directives-covid-19) to the Clergy on how a Parish can best protect itself and the Faithful who worship there.

In the Encyclical, His Eminence reminds the Faithful, “Science and our God-given reason demand that we employ every means available to protect ourselves and our families against the spread of Covid-19 and any other disease. In a crisis such as this, we need to exercise vigilance as a community, lest our churches become points of transmission of the disease.”

Commenting on the crisis, the Archbishop said:

“The Church has faced such challenges in the past – even devastating plagues. Today, we possess the advantage of scientific knowledge and the good common sense that can see us through this crisis. We must take every precaution that the CDC and other governmental agencies recommend concerning the coronavirus, and we will be continuously evaluating the situation with the best interest of all our parishioners in mind.”

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