Members of the Holy Community of Mount Athos, the rotating administrative body for the semi-autonomous Orthodox monastic community in northern Greece, met on Tuesday morning -in an extraordinary session – to discuss the confirmed Covid-19 cases that were recorded in a handful of monasteries there. A decision was taken not to seal off the Holy Mount to visitors and pilgrims, but rather, to take stricter measures to prevent any further exposure to the coronavirus.
Among others, a ceiling on the number of visitors to each monastery will be re-instituted, while pilgrims will not be able to travel from one monastery to another.
The head of a government-appointed team of experts tasked with managing the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, Dr. Sotiris Tsiodras, visited the Mount Athos capital of Karyes on Tuesday, leading a special detail of public health officials.
EXCLUSIVE – This is the relevant encyclical issued by the Holy Community of Mount Athos: