The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services is investigating a coronavirus outbreak at a Greek Orthodox church in Portsmouth after the church was warned earlier to stop using a single spoon during Communion. >> Download the FREE WMUR appThe Attorney General's Office is warning St. Nicholas Church and its parent church in Boston in a clash of religious tradition and government guidelines.The Greek Orthodox practice of using a single, shared chalice and spoon was a possible source of a COVID-19 outbreak at the church in early September, health officials said. According to a statement from church officials, none of the parishioners who contracted COVID-19 had received communion. A warning was issued to the church by the City of Portsmouth in July, and the Attorney General's Office issued another warning over the weekend, saying places of worship need to modify practices per the governor's emergency order.>> Latest coronavirus coverage from WMUR"If common items are used, there's a risk of transmitting the virus if it touches somebody who has that virus," said Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards.Dr. Aristotle Damianos, a member of the church on its parish council, and the church's safety committee said they have been working with the state and trying to stop the practice of sharing for months. "Many people are being starved of receiving Communion because they're afraid to get the virus," Damianos said.He said the parish priest, who has since left, and the Metropolis of Boston, which oversees Greek Orthodox churches in New England, believe the chalice and spoon are sacred and can't spread the virus. He said the church's council is frustrated that the priest and Metropolis would not acknowledge the science or that the governor's order is law. "I wish it hadn't taken this cluster of six people for the state to finally send the letter out," Damianos said."We've raised those issues to the Metropolis so it can be dealt with as a larger issue," Edwards said.The state said it is sensitive to doctrinal issues and has been in contact with an attorney on behalf of the Metropolis to discuss practices that affect all its New Hampshire churches. For now, the Metropolis has ordered services at St. Nicholas stopped.