Woman asked to leave church service for wearing mask
A 74-year-old woman was asked to leave a religious service near Kozani, in northern Greece, for wearing a face mask for coronavirus protection, according to reports on Monday.
The incident took place at the Monastery of Agia Paraksevi in the village of Milochori on Sunday.
Upon seeing the woman donning a surgical mask, monk Ignatios interrupted the service and asked her to leave the premises, saying that “the church is no place for a carnival.”
According to the same reports, the woman refused to leave the service.
Speaking on ERT broadcaster, Ignatios was quoted as saying that the coronavirus pandemic was part of a scheme orchestrated by a “global dictatorship.”
The monastery has reportedly broken away from the Metropolis of Florina, Prespes and Eordaia and the monks have severed ties with the Istanbul-based Patriarchate.
