When discussing Easter with APE-MPE, Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens said that being vaccinated for COVID-19 is an "act of Christian solidarity."
His statement:
"I say it again with all the power of my heart: the vaccination of all of us, especially those of us who are older, is not only an act of individual responsibility, but also an act of Christian solidarity and love for our neighbor.
"As Christians, we humans are completely free to choose, and God wants us to always choose the good, with mind and knowledge.
"Using the vaccine, utilising this gift of God and science to man, we choose the good.
"The end of the pandemic is near. Let's bring it closer, let's accelerate it by being vaccinated.
"Everyone who is vaccinated, with this act of love for God, himself and his neighbor, marks the fastest way out of this great national and global ordeal.
"The vaccine offers us the opportunity to restore the normality of our lives and the human embrace that we have missed so much.
"We, the clergy, must be the first to set a good example and make sure that everyone understands that the teaching of the Gospel is falsified and tainted by those who, naively or selfishly, try, with teratology, myths and conspiracy theories, to deceive and intimidate fellow human beings."
READ MORE: Archbishop Ieronymos clarifies his controversial statement about Islam.
