GOC hierarch: Diseases cannot be transmitted in the Church
Metropolitan Joel of Edessa explicated that Orthodox shrines cannot transmit any disease.
On September 3, 2020, on the day of the transfer of the relics of St. Nektarios of Aegins, the hierarch of Orthodox Church of Greece, Metropolitan Joel of Edessa, addressed the believers in a sermon, Romfea reports.
In his homily, His Eminence Metropolitan Joel stressed that the relics of saints, icons and vestments of saints have the grace of God, therefore they do not transmit any diseases.
Metropolitan Joel referred to the sacrament of the Eucharist, explaining that when trans-substantiation of the Holy Gifts takes place, no illness can approach.
“There is health in the temple, not disease. You can get the virus outside, not inside the church,” said the Metropolitan.
As reported by the UOJ, the head of the Church of Crete urged believers not to wear masks inside temples.
