Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Saturday concluded a private visit to Mount Athos, a venerated male-only center of Orthodox Christianity in Greece where eight monks have tested positive for coronavirus.
Commonly known as the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos is the spiritual capital of the Orthodox Christian world, consisting of 20 monasteries and about 700 houses, cells or hermitages housing approximately 1,700 monks.
The Russian premier arrived Thursday in the male-only preserve and stayed for two nights at the Filotheou monastery, the Athens News Agency reported.
For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.
On Saturday morning, Mishustin visited the Panteleimon monastery where almost all monks are Russian.
In 2016, Russian president, Vladimir Putin had made a private visit in Mount Athos during a two-day visit to Greece.
Mishutsin donated a large amount of medical supplies including masks, disinfectants and other means of protection from COVID-19.
A file photo shows Mishustin attending a meeting with Russian President in Moscow on May 6, 2019. (AFP)
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Eight monks have tested positive for coronavirus and their monastery in Mount Athos has been quarantined last Monday.
It is not the first outbreak at the Mount Athos. Four monks tested positive in March after travelling to Britain but recovered quickly.
The community, known for its austere rules, is almost most completely isolated in a mountainous nature reserve in the Macedonia region.
Greece’s country’s lockdown from March to May hit the Church hard, wrecking its Easter celebrations.
Church leaders disputed some of the science behind the confinement rules - agreeing to halt masses but refusing to ban communion.
Greece has so far registered 376 deaths and more than 17,000 infections from the virus.
Read more:
Greek PM to Erdogan: ‘Let’s give diplomacy a chance’
Coronavirus: Cases in Russia’s Moscow spike amid fears of new COVID-19 wave
Also Read
-
Putin wraps up Greek trip with Russian monastery visit
Vladimir Putin wraps up a two-day trip to Greece by visiting the monastic community of Mount Athos World News -
Greece tops Eastern Mediterranean countries in terms of coronavirus cases
Greece is currently leading among the Eastern Mediterranean countries in terms of the number of coronavirus cases detected, with 190 patients ... World News -
Coronavirus: Greece rolls out more restrictions to fight rising COVID-19 infections
Greece set a temporary 50-person limit on public gatherings on Friday and said restaurants and bars in Athens and other areas must close by midnight, ... Coronavirus
