Greek Priest Convicted Of Serving Liturgy On Annunciation During Pandemic

[Not David]

Greek priest convicted of serving Liturgy on Annunciation during pandemic (+VIDEO)
"The Court of First Instance in Patras, Greece, convicted a well-known priest of the Orthodox Church of Greece on Monday for having celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the feast of Annunciation in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

All services were banned by order of the Greek state at that time, and other priests also found themselves in trouble with the law.

Protopresbyter Anastasios Gotsopoulos, who served in the Church of St. Nicholas in Patras on March 25, 2020, received a suspended sentence of 8 months in prison, reports Vima Orthodoxias."

 

[prodromos]

Greek priest convicted of serving Liturgy on Annunciation during pandemic (+VIDEO)
"The Court of First Instance in Patras, Greece, convicted a well-known priest of the Orthodox Church of Greece on Monday for having celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the feast of Annunciation in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

All services were banned by order of the Greek state at that time, and other priests also found themselves in trouble with the law.

Protopresbyter Anastasios Gotsopoulos, who served in the Church of St. Nicholas in Patras on March 25, 2020, received a suspended sentence of 8 months in prison, reports Vima Orthodoxias."

Glory to God!
We need to be an offense to the way of the world. May God grant Fr Anastasios many years for his faithful witness. We now need other people to take courage from his example and force our bishops to stand behind him.

 

[Not David]

Glory to God!
We need to be an offense to the way of the world. May God grant Fr Anastasios many years for his faithful witness. We now need other people to take courage from his example and force our bishops to stand behind him.

Yes, but kind of sad that that happened in Greece, which is supposed to be an Orthodox country.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Greek priest convicted of serving Liturgy on Annunciation during pandemic (+VIDEO)
"The Court of First Instance in Patras, Greece, convicted a well-known priest of the Orthodox Church of Greece on Monday for having celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the feast of Annunciation in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

All services were banned by order of the Greek state at that time, and other priests also found themselves in trouble with the law.

Protopresbyter Anastasios Gotsopoulos, who served in the Church of St. Nicholas in Patras on March 25, 2020, received a suspended sentence of 8 months in prison, reports Vima Orthodoxias."

Lord have mercy! may God grant him strength for this new cross to bear!

 

[ArmyMatt]

Yes, but kind of sad that that happened in Greece, which is supposed to be an Orthodox country.

agreed

 

[prodromos]

Yes, but kind of sad that that happened in Greece, which is supposed to be an Orthodox country.

The Church is under attack all round the world. Many of our bishops are not standing firm but are actively undermining the Orthodox faith. As laity we need to stand up and rally around the faithful priests and bishops as the Church did after Ferrara and Florence.

 

[Justin-H.S.]

Axios!

 

[rusmeister]

The Church is under attack all round the world. Many of our bishops are not standing firm but are actively undermining the Orthodox faith. As laity we need to stand up and rally around the faithful priests and bishops as the Church did after Ferrara and Florence.

Having seen hierarchs from Met Kallistos to the EP to the Patriarch of Russia (to say nothing of of this like AB Elpidophoros fold to worldly influences and interests, and having very nearly stopped believing in the Church altogether thanks to not only them, but what I witnessed on the local level in Russia, yes, we need to back those that really do and say what they were called to do, like this priest in Greece.

 

[E.C.]

Yes, but kind of sad that that happened in Greece, which is supposed to be an Orthodox country.

Greece is the only country in the world that has the Orthodox Church as the state religion which, to my understanding, makes the Church subordinate to the State (someone in the know, please feel free to correct me)


Other so-called Orthodox countries; Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc; are officially and legally secular although some to mention in their Constitutions that the Orthodox Church is special, but separate from the State.

 

[truefiction1]

Greece is the only country in the world that has the Orthodox Church as the state religion which, to my understanding, makes the Church subordinate to the State (someone in the know, please feel free to correct me)


Other so-called Orthodox countries; Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia, etc; are officially and legally secular although some to mention in their Constitutions that the Orthodox Church is special, but separate from the State.

The Church is never subordinate to the state. Just laws of the state are to be obeyed, but when the commandments of the state contradict the commandments of Christ, Christ is to be obeyed. What part of Christ's command to eat His body and drink his blood, in remembrance of Him, did we not understand?

 

[ArmyMatt]

The Church is never subordinate to the state. Just laws of the state are to be obeyed, but when the commandments of the state contradict the commandments of Christ, Christ is to be obeyed. What part of Christ's command to eat His body and drink his blood, in remembrance of Him, did we not understand?

agreed, I am glad the bishop I serve under never closed down his parishes.

 

[abacabb3]

agreed, I am glad the bishop I serve under never closed down his parishes.

Yes, there are bishops who pretty much let the parishes be to serve.

Stopping worship for any reason equals evil. The amount of outright faithless wimps who stayed home instead of entreated God ought to be doing repentance on their knees. This includes clergy.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Yes, there are bishops who pretty much let the parishes be to serve.

Stopping worship for any reason equals evil. The amount of outright faithless wimps who stayed home instead of entreated God ought to be doing repentance on their knees. This includes clergy.

and that’s why they need our prayers.

 

[truefiction1]

Has the world always been so corrupting as I fear it is now?

 

[ArmyMatt]

Has the world always been so corrupting as I fear it is now?

yes, it’s just that we used to take the battle more seriously.

 

[truefiction1]

yes, it’s just that we used to take the battle more seriously.

Like Fr. Sysoev did? Or the ELder Paisios? And others we can think of?

 

[ArmyMatt]

Like Fr. Sysoev did? Or the ELder Paisios? And others we can think of?

yeah. more folks strived to be like them, methinks, and took the Gospel seriously.

 

[Light of the East]

agreed, I am glad the bishop I serve under never closed down his parishes.

OH!! You have a good one!!

 

[Light of the East]

yes, it’s just that we used to take the battle more seriously.

I think we forget, especially in the luxurious living of America (as compared to so many other countries) that this is a battle to the death. That is, we should be ready to follow Christ into suffering and death. Have I done that? Not hardly. I think most of us find life very agreeable and the idea of rocking the boat doesn't sit well with us.

 

[ArmyMatt]

OH!! You have a good one!!

indeed I do!