With the Communiqué of 18 March, the Ecumenical
Patriarchate announced the decision to suspend all ecclesiastical rites and events
within its territory, until the end of the month, as well as its intention to return
to the issue, should it be deemed necessary by current developments.
Already, because cases of COVID-19 are dramatically multiplying
throughout the world, with many casualties, and because, for this reason, the
imposition – and rightly so – of strict and restrictive measures continue in
almost every country, the abovementioned ban will unavoidably remain valid for
the Sacred Center of the Phanar and the Dioceses of the Ecumenical Throne throughout
the globe until further notice, depending on the course of the pandemic.
The Mother Church of Constantinople prays and wishes
that the appropriate effective medicine to combat the disease will be found
soon, so as to overcome this great crisis and to address its effects on society
and the economy.
From the Chief Secretariat
of the Holy and Sacred Synod
of the Holy and Sacred Synod
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March 31, 2020
