Eastern Orthodox Church

Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People wait in line at a poling station in Podgorica, Montenegro, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020. Voters in Montenegro on Sunday cast ballots in a tense election that is pitting the long-ruling pro-Western party against the opposition seeking closer ties with Serbia and Russia. The parliamentary vote is marked by a dispute over a law on religious rights that is staunchly opposed by the influential Serbian Orthodox Church. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)

Supporters of Democratic Party of Socialists wave Montenegrin flags as they drive in front of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Christ's Resurrection in Podgorica, Montenegro, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Montenegro is holding a parliamentary election this weekend with the pro-Western government facing pressure over the new coronavirus outbreak and ongoing tensions in relations with Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church because of a religious property law. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)

Pilgrims crawl in front of the Holy Church of Panagia of Tinos, on the Aegean island of Tinos, Greece, on Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. For nearly 200 years, Greek Orthodox faithful have flocked to Tinos for the August 15 feast day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the most revered religious holiday in the Orthodox calendar after Easter. But this year there was no procession, the ceremony _ like so many lives across the globe _ upended by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Faithful wait at the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, outside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, Friday, July 24, 2020. Hundreds of Muslim faithful were making their way to Istanbul's landmark monument Friday to take part in the first prayers in 86 years at the structure that was once Christendom's most significant cathedral and the "jewel" of the Byzantine Empire then a mosque and museum before its re-conversion into a Muslim place of worship. The conversion of the edifice, has led to an international outcry. (AP Photo/Yasin Akgul)

People chant slogans following Turkey's Council of State's decision, outside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, Friday, July 10, 2020.Turkey's Council of State, threw its weight behind a petition brought by a religious group and annulled a 1934 cabinet decision that changed the 6th century building into a museum. The ruling allows the government to restore the Hagia Sophia's previous status as a mosque.The decision was in line with the Turkish President's Recep Tayyip Erdogan's calls to turn the hugely symbolic world heritage site into a mosque despite widespread international criticism, including from the United States and Orthodox Christian leaders. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

FILE In this file photo taken on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Father Sergiy, a Russian monk who has defied the Russian Orthodox Church's leadership, right, speaks to journalists in Russian Ural's Sredneuralsk, Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church on Friday July 3, 2020, defrocked Father Sergiy, who has defied the coronavirus lockdown orders and has taken control over a monastery. (AP Photo/Vladimir Podoksyonov, FILE)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, Father Vasily Gelevan, wearing a face mask and gloves to protect against the coronavirus, prepares to conduct a service at the Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin in Sokolniki in Moscow, Russia. In addition to his regular duties as a Russian Orthodox priest, Father Vasily visits people infected with COVID-19 at their homes and hospitals. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In this photo taken on Thursday, May 28, 2020, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church priest, Father Yaroslav Rokhman wearing protective gear to protect against coronavirus, poses for a photo at a hospice in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. Rokhman, a priest in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, is pleased to be able to return to performing one of a cleric's most heartfelt duties. As the coronavirus pandemic's grip on Ukraine slowly recedes, priests received permission on May 22 to again hold services and visit the sick. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

In this Sunday, May 24, 2020, photo, a Greek Orthodox priest distributes Holy Communion during Sunday Mass in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Greece, using the traditional method of a shared spoon. Contrary to science, the Greek Orthodox Church and its followers insist it is impossible for any disease, including the coronavirus, to be transmitted through Holy Communion. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)