The Church refused to comply with the liberals' demand to ban Communion
Bishop Irinej of Bac gave a succinct response to the demand of the liberal forces in Serbia to ban church sacraments during the coronavirus epidemic, allegedly because of their potential danger.
Bishop Irinej Bulovich of Bac gave an interview to the Serbian publication Danas after a number of Serbian media outlets fanned the scandal surrounding the temple in Novi Sad, where a local priest performed the sacrament of Communion in the traditional form.
Journalists focused on the fact that the Novisad priest held a service after the call of Patriarch Irenaeus and the Holy Synod of the SOC to bring the services in accordance with the decisions of the Serbian government and the hygienic standards introduced during the epidemic - that is, to give communion using special utensils and to gather in churches in a number of no more than five people.
“If the problem is in worship services and communion, then how do those who do not go to church and do not receive communion become infected? – Bishop Bachsky asked a question. – What do these lost souls want to convey to us? What danger is in the church, and not in cafes, parties, failure to comply with the necessary self-isolation and other reasons?
Bishop Irinej noted that the tone of the SOC resolution was advisory; nothing extraordinary happened in the church in Novi Sad, which does not happen in other churches.
At the same time, neither the Orthodox nor the Catholic Church prevents believers from taking part in divine services.
"No one has ever become infected from communion in two thousand years," the bishop noted. "Including priests who administered communion ( they receive communion from the same cup as the flock – ed. ) to lepers, tuberculosis sufferers, and others suffering from incurable infectious diseases."
The bishop spoke in a publication that joined the campaign against the church in Novi Sad and even published a cartoon with very explicit content.
“Intolerance should be found in those media that launch planned and ordered campaigns, such as the campaign around the church in Novi Sad. I deeply regret the people who do such unworthy work in these times of temptation. These are people with a burnt-out conscience,” said the clergyman.
English version :: Read in English The Church refused to comply with the liberals' demand to ban Communion.