A Greek Orthodox church on the island of Cyprus, off the coast of Greece doesn’t plan to stop serving wine and wafers for communion as the novel coronavirus continues its path of destruction. Sure the ritual requires continual contact with contaminated vessels, but this doesn’t discourage church officials from the Church of Cyprus, who insist God would never allow the virus to spread that way. And they said just that in a statement, saying “it would be blasphemous to think that Christ’s Body and Blood could transmit any disease or virus.”
Further, according to Friendly Atheist, the statement advises:
Regarding the offering of the Holy Communion, the position of the Church is known. The Holy Communion does not symbolize but it is the Body and Blood of Christ. It would be blasphemous to think that Christ’s Body and Blood could transmit any disease or virus. Based upon the centuries-old experience of Christianity, there is no evidence of such transmission. The priests who served in infectious diseases hospitals and administered the Holy Communion to those patients, in the end, received the remainder of the Divine Communion themselves by using the same spoon. No priest was infected in these cases.
But that’s not all church officials had to say.
“One attends the sacrament of the Holy Communion with faith, which protects against all danger. Participation is voluntary. No one is forced. If some feel that they want to abstain from the sacrament in that time, they are free to do so.”
The church’s stance on coronavirus contradicts information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency notes the virus is believed to spread via person-to-person contact, especially if people are in close contact with each other (within six feet).
“These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly inhaled into the lungs,” the agency stated.
