A Greek Priest on the Divisiveness Within Orthodoxy Over COVID Vaccines

The letter below was written to us by a Greek priest who asked to be anonymous. Some commentary by our staff follows this important letter.


Dear Friend,

May the blessing of the Lord be upon you! Thank you for your website and helping get the word out on this poison shot and wicked agenda. Orthodox priests and bishops are in a real bind. This needs to be shared with the faithful. They need to pray hard for their priests and hierarchs and be careful not to judge them if they feel they are too silent.

When we priests speak out, we get shut down by fellow clergy and our hierarchs (who can suspend us or defrock us at a whim). Our hierarchs who want to speak out are threatened by their superiors and synods. Priests are in danger of losing their parishioners who have fallen for the official narrative. These parishioners feel scandalized when their priest speaks out, and consider him one of the “crazy” conspiracy theorists: The evil one uses this to convince them to leave the parish (and her Sacramental life), and they may take others with them.

So most priests will speak privately to those they believe “have ears to hear”. Another bind our clergy are in is that the vaccine is beginning to be mandated for them to visit their flock in hospitals, prisons and rest homes–thus the priest finds his access blocked to those who need him most. Some priests are being pressured by their hierarchs to take the shot. In our meetings with our fellow clergy, there is a underling contention between the vaxxed priests vs. the unvaxxed. Finally, priests have to deal with the heartache caused by those of their flock who are vaxxed, who either suffer from the effects or might suffer down the line.

Now the parents are being pushed to vax their children. If God doesn’t do something quickly, I fear we are going to experience a holocaust. Some good news. I heard one of the doctors who was a pioneer in using Ivermectin mention that they were finding that it still works even on those who are vaccinated, in that it mitigates or eliminates the adverse effects. The drawback: They need to take it more regularly, and if they stop, the symptoms come back.

Anyway, please remind people to pray for their clergy on both sides of this issue. Metropolitan Neophytos put it well. Lets agree that those Orthodox who are vaxxed should pray for the safety and well being of their fellow Christians who they feel are endangering their lives by not taking the vax….and let the unvaxxed Orthodox pray for the safety and well being of their vaxxed brothers and sisters who they feel are endangering their lives by taking the vax. That way, unity can be preserved.

In Christ,

A Greek Orthodox priest


Watching the “chatter” on Orthodox blogs and from “official” ministries, it is apparent that the division within society over the COVID “vaccines” is being reflected in the Orthodox Church. That is a shame, as society has never needed a unified Church more than it does today. The vast majority of contributors to Orthodox Reflections believe that the use of aborted fetal cells, in one capacity or another, makes the COVID shots tainted and unfit for human use.

However, none of us pry into anyone else’s life. We do not demand anyone abstain from the “vaccines.” We argue for our beliefs on the subject, but we end there. In real life, we neither volunteer our vaccine statuses nor ask anyone else about theirs. We support voluntary, informed consent for all medical procedures and the preservation of medical privacy at all times.

We believe, based on many things (including prior statements of the Russian Orthodox Church) that voluntary informed consent is the only moral position concerning these vaccines or any other medical treatment. Any coercion of any kind to force acceptance of an unwanted medical treatment (threatening educational opportunities, job loss, participation in society, church attendance, etc.) is immoral and should never be tolerated by sincere, practicing Orthodox Christians.

Perhaps it is time to heed the call to civility of this wonderful Greek priest. The daily prayer of each group (vaxxed and unvaxxed) for the other is a great place to start. Respecting each others’ free will and right to privacy would be a great way to continue.

—Orthodox Reflections Staff

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive awesome content in your inbox, every month.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.