Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill has called upon believers to stay home this Easter. But the Ukrainian jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP) is calling upon its faithful to Ukraine to come to pray near churches, in defiance not only with its “boss” but also Ukraine’s Ministry of Health. Although the prayer is to be held in “accordance with sanitary norms,” this is sure to precipitate a COVID-19 outbreak in a country that has struggled to contain the spread of the disease with harsh quarantine measures.
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Alya Shandra: Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine calls believers to church
Ukrainian believers wearing masks wait for the blessing Easter cakes outside of a church in Kyiv on April 18, 2020, on the eve of Orthodox Easter.
