13 Clergymen Refuse to Participate in Liturgical Services Amid Crisis

13 clergymen issued a joint statement, saying they will suspend liturgical activities for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, and calling on people to perform the spiritual liturgy in the service of society as a whole.

The clergymen assert that those who chose to refrain from gathering en masse amid the deadly pandemic, do not betray Jesus Christ with this decision, but on the contrary, they engage in the purest form of liturgy in the service of Mankind, by choosing to do what Jesus would have done himself.

“True communion with Jesus Christ is not attained through liturgical activity only. We were created to be true partakers of His holy body, ‘For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones’ (Eph. 5:30). There is no alternative to protecting human life, for according to the Bible, Man is the crown of Divine Creation. Therefore, the primary obligation of the Church is to save him. Fear does not always mean cowardice: sometimes it forms the basis for a great cause”, reads the statement.

The statement is signed by 13 clergyman and 12 theologians.

The clergyman’s address comes amid the escalating controversy in Georgia concerning the joint decision of the patriarchate and the government to keep churches open on Easter night, at a time when the country has virtually shut down to defeat a contagious disease.

Head of the Patriarchate’s Public Relations Service, Andria Jagmaidze said: ”We have decided that the parishioners should come to the church before the start of the curfew (9 PM) and leave the church at 6 AM in the morning after the Easter service.”

By Elene Dzebisashvili