Bishop Dositej's statement - 22th March 2020
Smedjerid Monastery, 22nd March 2020.
To the pious priesthood and all brothers and sisters of the eparchate of Britain and Scandinavia in the Great Britain
In these our days we bear witness to the pandemic of the corona virus and to its effect on the modern world, which is undergoing crisis and tragedy of a depth not seen since the horror and destruction of world war. To greater or lesser degree this pandemic has indeed affected the whole world, and we are informed by experts in medicine that the worst days and months are yet to come upon us. This great tribulation has clearly been released upon peoples and nations in order that we might reassess our relations towards others, towards those closest to us, towards nature and generally towards the world in which we live. For there can be no doubt that it is human pridefulness and greed which lies at the root of this unparalleled crisis. These times in which we live demand of us a sober response to the newly-arisen situation, that we might remain completely calm and without fear, focused on the Lord himself, guided by our love for those close to us and for all mankind, indeed towards all of God’s creation.
However, our God-guided eparchy of Britain and Scandinavia encompasses the territory of seven countries of western and northern Europe and thereby presents us with the difficult task of having to make a single determination on behalf of an area covering different peoples and countries each of whose governments has taken different decisions and each of whose National Health Services has made different recommendations and regulations based on the state of their condition in the battle against the spread of the corona virus. Taking into consideration the acts and announcements of our Holy Church in our Serbian motherland but also those of fellow regional Orthodox churches, we in our capacity of Bishop have arrived at our own decision on this issue for the eparchate in Great Britain in accord with its Government’s guidelines, which decision nullifies those made previously, comes into force immediately and will remain valid until further notice:
1. From Тuesday 24 March 2020 services are suspended and priests will serve Holy Liturgy without the presence of the congregation.
2. Each parish, if it has not already done so must suspend all non-worship activities i.e. Sunday schools, folklore groups and community services.
3. In Your program of prayer should be added, particularly by priests in their services, a special prayer to God that He save us from the present danger of epidemic and send His guiding angel to watch over us and that he the Lord might heal the sick and return them to health.
4. Priests should not minimize and profane the genuine mystique of human participation and the unity of heaven and earth in the Holy cup of the Liturgy by transmitting the Holy Liturgy through technical means that would make of this unique happening a mere online spectacle. It is desirous that social networks only show the words of the Liturgy, specifically the reading of the section from the Apostolic epistles, the section from the Holy gospel, the sermon of the priest and the prayer for release from the epidemic, but not the canon of the Eucharist.
5. The priests and congregational Councils of church parishes shall take the remaining necessary steps in terms of our Holy churches satisfying the highest standards of hygiene in conditions of world pandemic, in conformity with our Orthodox tradition.
6. That we pray for all the medical workers on the front line of assistance to the sick, for the workers in shops and stores and for the duty emergency services as they face their challenges of ensuring as much normality as possible to a society under unparalleled strain.
The Holy Liturgy is the cornerstone of our beliefs, religion and existence. During the Liturgy we in our gratitude bring gifts from His creation to the Creator so that we might taste the fruits of heaven and true happiness. The thought that we have to distance ourselves for some time from the Holy sacrament is a painful one, but this moment in history imposes upon us another battle for the soul keeping in mind also that we thereby live liturgically and eucharistically. Withdrawal into isolation, protecting in that manner ourselves and others, is not an invitation to indolence but rather to the spiritual accomplishment of prayer, prayerful silence, reading of helpful literature, renewal of neglected family relations… Withdrawal from the world and the retreat into silence meant for many holy fathers a spiritual unifying with Christ, so faced with what is in all honesty our enforced departure into isolation, we too accept it as a command of our church, and an obedience for Lent. In calm obedience therefore we accept this, our essential sacrifice for the good of all and may the Lord bestow on us belief and hope so that despite ills and travails we may rejoice as we make our Lent journey towards the Easter Resurrection, which is the final and true meaning of our lives.
+ Д О С И Т Е Ј
Bishop of Britain and Scandinavia
