Asking massless faithful to respect their fellow congregants, a Greek Orthodox priest in Kalamata interrupted Divine Liturgy and asked those not wearing masks to leave the church.
Although not captured on camera, there appeared to be pushback from the disgruntled faithful inside the church, to whom he continued to argue his point that it was not only the law, but the right thing to do.
The incident took place at St. Nicholas Flarios Greek Orthodox Church in the center of Kalamata, in southern Greece.
The video, captured by a member of the parish, was uploaded to YouTube and quickly went viral.
The incident happened during the Christmas Divine Liturgy.
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28 comments
The Priest is an idiot and should have used a better tone and language. His ushers, and those singing had no masks and neither did he. By using the language he did, he offended those that didn’t have masks-imagine Christ being offended at lepers who didn’t keep their distance?.. This priest does not represent Orthodoxy-he is NOT in his house-it is the house of God, and his attitude speaks volumes about why Greeks have turned away from the Church. Belligerence and an ego complex, tone of voice and confrontation is not becoming of an Orthodox priest.
As a parish council member in our church, I found the Father a blessed and wised leader.
For the defiant trying to prove (what ever they were), they were compromising the rest of the present members and risking a shutdown of the church. We , at our church, first have limited attendance and only with preregistration in advance. Before they enter the church, we take temperature , ask to use the sanitizer and were masks. In the church we practice social distance and many other safety procedures. May the Good Lord protect us, bless and forgive the ones that don’t follow the priest’s instructions
Athan Paris, not wearing a mask in public is rude, selfish and demonstrates a sense of entitlement and poor character. Wear your masks and shut up.
The only one who needs to shut up is the ignorant you. Thanks. That priest was out of line. Shame on him for disrupting his Godly Liturgy instead of asking an usher to take care of church business. “I’m the president” he says..? He’s got to go! Strip him of those robes because he is not deserving of them.
The priests and clergy are not crowds of people jammed together and are relatively isolated from the people . He has every right to call his rules. The church was built by man in hope of providing a space that may be representative of Gods place. The priest has the right to call out when someone is disrespectful to his brethren. If someone comes in groping people you can’t leave them be similarly you can’t expose people to a deadly virus because someone wanted to.
Masks show submission to the communists: not to the divine. Also, every study done in the last 30 years has proven masks provide less than 5% protection from viral transmission: too high a price for one’s liberty.
Is this a seious reply?
Masks make you a communist?
It’s an air born virus that is spread mainly from your mouth. Is it just coincidence that most of the dead and the ill are the ones who did not wear masks?
If you are ever on an operatiing table please give the doctors and nurses the “liberty” to not wear gloves or masks. Don’t make them communists.
I am the president of our parish council and a physician who cares for COVID patients. One of our parishioners is now entering his 4th week on a ventilator with COVID pneumonia – he has a number of other medical problems so his chance of survival statistically is very low. I have sent an email to our parish requesting that those attending services in person follow CDC, State and Metropolis guidelines to wear a mask. We had a person refuse to wear a mask on Christmas Eve. There were other members of the congregation present who were elderly and medically frail. In fact, one had a stroke on Christmas morning and is now hospitalized. In my opinion, this priest is absolutely justified in making this request. People attending services are typically older and at risk individuals – they are attending and receiving communion from a common cup with faith that God will protect them from any harm brought upon by communicable disease. Unfortunately, worship in and of itself does not protect people from harm that me befall them by a random shooter (see Texas, New Zealand or Pittsburgh) or possibly an individual seeking to make a political statement or just publicly express their opinion regarding the usefulness of masks around our most vulnerable populations. You can’t buy toilet paper at Walmart without a mask, you shouldn’t be able to worship without one either – if you need it bad enough to attend, you should put your ego or your political views aside and consider the health and well being of those around you – they may not share the same beliefs that you do. As parish council president, I can’t stop the service, but this priest holds the ultimate authority and power to protect his flock and I applaud him for doing so. COVID is no joke – wear a mask.
So what you’re saying is you’re a communist physician? I’ll trust in The Great Physician and the immune system he gave me. God didn’t give us any “rights” to a disease free life, but did give us the responsibility to take care of our own temples- our own bodies. Face diapers outside of controlled clinical settings are irresponsible, and you should know better. Stop fearing death – fear of GOD is the beginning of all wisdom.
Very happy to give you the right to die.
Yes, they have the right to die, but not kill others.
Glad you said it instead of me. As a parish president this man should know better. Priests are NOT the highest authority. He should review the church rules and regulations and stop excusing the priest’s out of line behavior. He should also stop spreading fear and start educating himself first and then others.
Thank you Faithful.
Thank you!
Is this a seious reply?
Masks make you a communist?
It’s an air born virus that is spread mainly from your mouth. Is it just coincidence that most of the dead and the ill are the ones who did not wear masks?
If you are ever on an operatiing table please give the doctors and nurses the “liberty” to not wear gloves or masks. Don’t make them communists.
Thank you for a thoughtful, intelligent, rational reply. It is due to those who deny science and listen to lies and believe the conspiracy theorists, that allowed this disease to get out of control and kill thousands unecessarily.
The Priest should NOT interrupt the Holy Liturgy under ANY circumstances, let alone operational circumstances that could have been taken care of by whomever is managing the front door. Anyone else should have done it. Such a shame…..God help us all…..
Finally an intelligent, rational law abiding Greek…Of course not all priests flaunt the law in the name of religion but this priest uses common sense. He realizes that masks to do help to curb this dreaded scourge…he is trying to protect the parishioners there wearing mask and the necessarily maskless chanters and himself. Why are some Greeks so clueless and oblivious to the plain facts. Bravo to the priest and shame on the church council who should have managed this situation by barring the offenders at the doors so as not to disrupt the Divine Liturgy.
Parish councils do not exist in churches of Greece where this incident took place. Rather, presiding priests there are the arbiters of decorum and praxis within their parishes. And it is at such places where communists are more likely to be than in the community of the parish council president and physician, who posted earlier. The implication by the mask objector that the posting physician, himself, might be a communist is a pathetic comment and a non sequitur regarding a serious problem.
The priest was protecting is flock. It’s about time a priest has done something about the stupidity of others not wearing a mask. He is following protocol and if someone from the health department were to walk in he could be shut down and possibly for good. Greek’s don’t seem to understand that rules apply to everyone including Greek’s. He had every single right to interrupt liturgy. I wish more priests were like this. Not afraid to speak up.
Mr. Pappas, what was the name of the priest in Kalamata? Thank you.
Αρχιμανδρίτης Φίλιππος Χαμαργιάς
I hope this is not real
Covid is real and ignorance and selfishness is rampant.
Bravo to that priest who works to protect his flock, as a shepherd would do the same. I love fearless men of God! Fotini Lemonias
The priest was completely right with his request. It is disrespectful and dangerous to the other parishioners when one is not wearing a mask.
God gave you the right to take care or not take care of your own body. If you want to kill yourself, go right ahead. God did not give you any right to infect a deadly virus on innocent people whether they are communist or not.
Bravo to the priest who did the right thing. I can’t blame him for being angry at those who criminally disobeyed Greek laws regarding assemblage and masks. They are selffish potential walking time bombs to innocent people. Let them congregate among them selves and infect themselves, not others. Those persons were asked not to enter the church without masks and they did. It is the priest and their relatives who will have to bury the dead, not them.
What do you expect from a liberal ecumenist heretic?!!