Communiqué from the Ecumenical Patriarchate Press Office
In response to the question whether the Ecumenical Patriarchate “sanctioned” or not the use of multiple or disposable holy spoons for distributing the Holy Communion to the faithful, the Ecumenical Patriarchate repeats what was stated in the communiqué of the Chief Secretariat of the Sacred and Holy Synod, dated June 25, 2020.
“As to the mode of distributing the ineffable Mysteries to the faithful, the Church, respecting Holy Tradition that is interwoven inextricably with the daily ecclesiastical practice and kenotic experience, and as the guardian and vigilant watchman of those traditions handed down from the Holy Fathers, finds no need for a change of this mode, especially under pressure from external factors.”
Therefore, any accommodations by economia shall be made only when the following two necessary conditions exist:
a) state law prohibitions regarding holy worship due to the pandemic, and
b) with the consent and the permission to do so of the Mother Church of Constantinople.
However, these accommodations do not pertain to the mode of distribution and much more so to the use of multiple or disposable holy spoons.
