The trial of Metropolitan of Corfu, Paxi and the Diapontian isles, His Eminence Nektarios, on two misdemeanor charges of allegedly violating public health restrictions, ones issued at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, commenced on Monday morning at a first instance court on Corfu.
A local prosecutor took exception to the Metropolitan’s sermon on March 25 national holiday, where he called on the faithful to attend their churches and partake in the Holy Communion. Another alleged violation is related with the litany of the holy relics of St. Spyridonas within the Metropolitan Cathedral on Palm Sunday.
The hierarch was greeted by a large gathering of the faithful and clerics during his arrival at the court house, who arrived to show their support and solidarity to the Metropolitan of Corfu.
In answer to a question by the Orthodoxia news agency, His Eminence said he directly told the prosecutor that this persecution was against the Church itself, adding that beyond the country’s justice system, this case was “…in the hands of God”.
In a published statement, the Metropolitan’s attorney, Giannis Kontos, emphasized that His Eminence “…choose to follow the path that his personal Christian conscience dictates, something that is natural, as this is a hierarch whose life is dedicated to serving the word of God.”
