PATRIARCH
KIRILL
ESTABLISHES LIABILITY OF CLERGY FOR NOT OBSERVING MEASURES OF
PREVENTION OF
CORONAVIRUS
Interfax-Religiia,
27
April 2020
Patriarch
Kirill
required clergy to strictly obey orders for prevention of
SOVID-19; otherwise
priests must answer for the negative consequences.
"Unfortunately,
in
the early stages of the spread of infection, not all took it as
a serious
threat, ignoring the warnings of physicians and the church
hierarchy. In
individual monasteries and some churches, this led to a large
number of cases
of infection. Because of this, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow
and all-Rus
Kirill has established, by special order, the liability of
clergymen for
disobeying orders intended to limit the spread of coronavirus
infection,"
a working group under the patriarch reports on Monday.
"In
those
instances where disobedience to these orders and instructions
lead to infection
of someone with the coronavirus infection, leading to his death
by reason of
this infection, the guilty party may be brought to a church
trial, and in other
instances be held ecclesiastically administratively accountable
because of
deliberately ignoring measures intended to protect people from
mass infection
with the fatal disease," the patriarch's order says, which was
published
on the RPTs website.
The
working group
also reports that after the improvement of the health epidemic
situation in the
Russian Orthodox Church there will be the gradual restoration of
church parish
life in its usual form.
Earlier
a broad
resonance was evoked in social networks and news media by the
public
proclamation of Schehegumen Sergius Romanov, from the Central
Urals monastery,
who called the coronavirus pandemic a myth and urged
disobedience to the church
leadership and government authorities. The proclamation evoked
widespread
critical comments from internet users. Among other things,
Schehegumen Sergius
cursed those who are closing churches during the pandemic and he
warned about
the creation of an "electronic camp of Satan." (tr. by PDS,
posted 27
April 2020)
FATHER
SERGIUS CURSES
EVERYBODY WHO ATTEMPTS TO CLOSE CHURCHES BECAJUSE OF
CORONAVIRUS
The
founder of the
Central Urals Convent, Schehegumen Sergius (secular name,
Nikolai Romanov),
cursed all who attempt to close churches because of the
pandemic of
coronavirus.
"Our
church
administration along with the precursors of the Antichrist are
closing churches
and suggesting to communicate with God online, citing the
pseudo-pandemic and
concealing their own weakness and cowardice [. . .] I suggest
to those
suffering senile dementia, the senile pandemic, and spiritual
leprosy, who
propose for Russians self-isolation and forgetting God and not
going to
churches, that they resettle where they choose, in Birobidzhan
or the island of
Martinique or the island of Spinalong. I dare say that just as
soon as this
happens, the nonexistent coronavirus epidemic in Russia will
immediately come
to an end. Whoever attempts to close churches, may he and all
his tribe be
cursed!" he declared in a proclamation on 25 April.
Sergius
urged "to
come outside, not fearing the police and Russian Guard, and
plant
potatoes" to prevent famine. He also stated that they want to
settle
Russians in the "electronic camp of Satan," "imprison them in
self-isolation," and "place the secular hospital above the
church,
which heals all diseases."
The
abbot of the
Central Urals Convent, Father Sergius, is the spiritual
director of persons
famous in Russia. In the past, the State Duma deputy Natalia
Poklonskaia often
came to him and he also is considered the spiritual director
of hockey player
Pavel Datsiuk. [. . .] (tr. by PDS, posted 27 April 2020)
EKATERINBURG
DIOCESE
DEPRIVES PRIEST WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC OF
RIGHT TO PREACH
Interfax-Religiia,
27
April 2020
The
Ekaterinburg
diocese decided to deprive Schehegumen Sergius of the right to
deliver sermons
and speak out in public, who cursed those who close churches
during the
SOVID-19 pandemic.
"Since
the
repeated admonitions of the hierarchy of the Ekaterinburg
diocese regarding the
quality and contents of the sermons of Schehegumen Sergius have
been ignored,
the decision was made today to deprive him of the right to
preach and speak out
in the public space," the diocese press service announced on
Monday.
The
diocese added
that the contents of the schehegumen's speeches do not reflect
its position.
Earlier,
a video
recording of a speech by Father Sergius was disseminated, where
he called the
coronavirus pandemic a myth and urged disobedience to the church
administration
and state authorities. Among other things, the priest cursed
those who close
churches during the pandemic and he warned about the creation of
an
"electronic camp of Satan." (tr. by PDS, posted 27 April 2020)
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