There are Christians who are afraid to receive Holy Communion for fear of catching germs. If this were true, no priest would be alive, because at the end of the Divine Liturgy they consume the remaining content from the Holy Chalice, from which hundreds of faithful with various illnesses also commune. Yet, nothing has ever happened to any priest. The Body and Blood of the Lord is a "consuming fire".
When Metropolitan Panteleimon Fostinis of Chios (+ 1962) was a preacher in Attica, he went at one time to liturgize at the phthisiatric* hospital "Sotirias".
There the nurses brought him a large platter with many spoons.
"Why did you bring me these?" he asked.
"We were told by the doctors so you could commune the sick with these, beginning with the least severe and proceeding to the most severe."
"These aren't needed", responded the priest with faith. "I have the Holy Lavida."**
Indeed, during the Divine Liturgy he communed the sick properly and then at the end he went to the Beautiful Gate to consume the remaining portions. He did this so everyone could see it, and for the doctors to learn that Holy Communion is a fire that burns everything.
* A hospital that treats tuberculosis.
** A lavida is a pair of tongs (used to put coal in a fire), which were used in ancient times to distribute Holy Communion in the hand, but for good order this was replaced by a spoon and retained the ancient name.
