Coronavirus: Following ‘Christian duty’ archbishop urges people to get vaccinated

Archbishop Chrysostomos expressed concern on Friday over the explosion in Covid infections as he urged people to vaccinate, saying it was dictated by Christian duty.

Appealing to people’s patriotism, the archbishop urged them to ignore unfounded and unscientific superstition and get their jabs to prevent more deaths.

“Of course, no one will be forced to vaccinate,” a written statement from the archbishopric said. “But we emphasize that our love and concern for the protection of others makes vaccination imperative.”

The aim should be to prevent more deaths and tackle the pandemic effectively as soon as possible.

“During these difficult times when our country is facing intensified Turkish threats with an effort to impose new fait accompli in Famagusta and the Cyprus problem in general, we cannot afford losing human lives or our fellow humans suffering due to our negligence and indifference in adhering to the necessary measures,” the statement said.

It said it was everyone’s moral obligation to overcome individualism, self-centrism, fears, and prejudices, and unite in a common effort to tackle the pandemic by willingly obeying the health services.

“This is dictated by our Christian duty, which is the fulfillment of the highest commandment, love towards each human.”

The statement “emphatically” reiterated the Holy Synod decision of December 1, 2020, to recommend vaccinations after it was briefed by experts.

“It is not possible to assign any kind of interest to the state health services apart from their concern for the people’s health.”