Orthodox Christianity

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)

Muslims offer their evening prayers outside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, following Turkey's Council of State's decision, Friday, July 10, 2020. Turkey's highest administrative court issued a ruling Friday that paves the way for the government to convert Hagia Sophia - a former cathedral-turned-mosque that now serves as a museum - back into a Muslim house of worship. The 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. (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)

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)

Father Sergiy, a Russian monk who has defied the Russian Orthodox Church's leadership, right, speaks to journalists in Russian Ural's Sredneuralsk, Russia, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. The monk, who has denied the coronavirus' existence and urged believers to ignore the Kremlin's lockdown orders, has taken control of a monastery in the Ural Mountains. (AP Photo/Vladimir Podoksyonov)

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 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)

Orthodox worshipers, a few wearing masks for protection against the COVID-19 virus, spread around an open archaeological site outside the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, which includes ruins dating as far back as the Roman Empire, hold candles during a religious service in the Black Sea port of Constanta, Romania, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Romanian Orthodox Archbishop Teodosie rescheduled the Orthodox Easter service, which was to be held in mid-April, to offer worshippers an opportunity to celebrate Easter properly after the cancelling of the original April 19 service due to the national lockdown imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

FILE - In this file photo dated Friday, Jan. 17, 2020, Montengro's old flag is waved during a protest in Belgrade, Serbia. Montenegro, the first European country to declare itself free of the coronavirus infection, plans to open its borders to citizens of several European countries except for former ally Serbia, drawing angry reaction from Serbian officials Tuesday May 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, FILE)