Communion and the Coronavirus: COVID-19 Triggers Deep Orthodox Divisions

While unfathomable to some, among Orthodox Christians in Greece and elsewhere Dimitra's ambivalence is unsurprising given the mixed messages that came from church clergy.

The Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece, Ieronymos, had declared early on his willingness to work with the government in exercising strict social-distancing measures to halt a disease that threatened to overwhelm a public health system brought to its knees by years of painful austerity over the past decade to stave off a Greek financial collapse.

Some of those measures went against some of the basic tenets of Orthodox religious practice, and on the ground, in churches up and down the country of almost 11 million people, debate continues to rage. Violations have been widespread.

The swift action of the conservative Greek government has won plaudits, keeping the number of confirmed cases - some 2,463 on April 23, including 127 fatalities - low in comparison with much of the rest of Europe.

But its success has come not thanks, but in spite of, Orthodox hardliners and rogue bishops whose public declarations and practices undercut government efforts to get to grips with the pandemic in the first crucial weeks in March.

Such tensions are playing out across the Orthodox world, including the Balkan states of Serbia, Bulgaria and Montenegro.

Beyond the current crisis, experts say, the conflict poses greater questions about the collision of science and religion, with different branches and figures within the Orthodox Church taking different positions on whether or not to bow to the advice and orders of governments and healthcare authorities.

With health experts warning of the need for repeated periods of social distancing before COVID-19 is brought under control...