Covid-19 – The Worldwide Pandemic, the Challenge of a Necessary Conscience Examination
NICOLAE-CORIOLAN DURAABSTRACT. The journey of humankind throughout history has always been defined by choices, individual or group choices, depending on the society at stake. These choices have influenced not only the present of those who made them, but also their future, such as this apparently uncontrollable pandemic that can raise questions regarding the path that humanity is heading towards. From a theological and canonical perspective (the internal discipline of Church management), these times are a novelty. Never in the history of the Orthodox Church has this issue been discussed, similarly to the other academic subjects studying the history of humankind, due to the fact that such a phenomenon never took place before. Consequently, it is to be expected that the following questions rise: “What is this virus?” “What are we supposed to do?” “How is this pandemic to be interpreted by the nowadays Christian?” “How does it affect our relationships with others or even with ourselves?” These are just some examples of questions people are asking.
Keywords: Covid-19; pandemic; crisis; social distancing; canonical tradition; Orthodox Church