Neos Kosmos received an angry call full of disappointment by Greek Australian Vlassis Tsatsaris, regarding a Greek Orthodox priest who reportedly threw a five-year-old girl out of the temple for complaining about the unpleasant taste of the Holy Communion.
“We put a great deal of effort into raising our children according to the Greek Orthodox traditions and the Church should be helpful. Priests shouldn’t throw five-year-olds out of the church,” said Mr Tsatsaris.
It was his own granddaughter who was “outcast” by a priest in a Greek Orthodox church in Melbourne, after receiving the Holy Communion.
The young girl complained in English after swallowing the Holy Communion, saying “it’s disgusting”. The priest heard the girl, and according to Mr Tsatsaris, shouted at the child, saying “don’t you ever set foot in this church again. I don’t want you”.
“He has no right to speak to a five year-old child this way. My granddaughter couldn’t stop crying that day,” Mr Tsatsaris told Neos Kosmos.
“My children and I, as well as my grandkids, are trying to stay true to our heritage, our traditions and the Church. The only thing the priest ‘accomplished’ was to make my little girl never want to go to church again.”
Although this may sound exaggerated, it’s not the first time priests have had to deal with similar reactions by children who are unwilling to receive the Holy Communion or unable to swallow it.
Neos Kosmos contacted Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis, who stressed that such a reaction by a priest is not acceptable. He suggests that parents should also inform their children about the taste and procedure of the Holy Communion and prepare them to receive it properly and with respect, before taking them to the church.
“It is not the first time something like this has happened. The priest shouldn’t have had this kind of reaction. On the other hand, in order to minimise such behaviours from young children, parents should take them to church more often. If young children only go to church once a year to receive the Holy Communion, or go at this age for the first time, it’s only natural that we’ll come across this reaction,” Bishop Ezekiel explained.
“Some children react even worse. A few years back, while I was performing the liturgy and offering the Holy Communion, a child spat it and I therefore had to lick it from the floor.”
Bishop Ezekiel highlighted the importance of parents preparing children to receive communion as something pleasant before going to church.
“I later on approached the parents and explained how they should talk to the child, clarifying what the Holy Communion is beforehand,” he said. “If it happens again, then it would be a sin. On them and myself as well.”
Bishop Ezekiel made it clear that the priest should have advised the family and the child, rather than expelling them, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“We are dealing with children,” he stressed, adding that he welcomes Mr Tsatsaris and the family to discuss the matter with him further.