Symbolizing a powerful message in favor of vaccinations, Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios has postponed a scheduled visit to Mount Athos in northern Greece due to the pandemic outbreak in the historic monastic community.
He will however go ahead with his visit to Athens from November 20 to 25.
“With this decision, the ecumenical patriarch wishes to send a message in all directions about the need to vaccinate and to respect the protective measures against the coronavirus as the only safe way to overcome the deadly pandemic,” the Ecumenical Patriarchate said in a statement.
The Istanbul-based spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians is visiting Greece in the context of events organized in Athens by the Church of Greece and other bodies on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his ascension to the patriarchal throne.
