In Russia, churches resume work amid the pandemic

TASS, May 28. Many churches in the regions of the Russian Federation have resumed services with the participation of parishioners, previously canceled due to the threat of the spread of coronavirus: in the Pskov diocese, worshipers were allowed to participate in services in church areas. And those parishes that did not close began to implement anti-epidemic measures: in the Solovetsky Monastery in the Arkhangelsk region, believers were required to maintain social distance; in the Rostov region, priests began to wear masks during all services, representatives of dioceses and clergy told TASS.

Last week, on the Rossiya-24 TV channel, the chairman of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk (Alfeev), announced that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) will open access for believers to churches, in accordance with accepted secular authorities make decisions in this regard based on the epidemic situation in each specific region. He noted that after the opening of churches, a number of precautionary measures will remain in place for some time - for example, maintaining the required distance between parishioners and limiting the total number of worshipers.

Prayers on the street and in the temple

In a number of regions of the Russian Federation, church rectors began to hold services in the fresh air, and some parishes have already opened their doors to everyone. This was done in the Kirov region, where the self-isolation regime is in effect until the end of May: here all the churches of the Vyatka diocese are already available for visits. “The churches of the Vyatka Diocese are not closed; the restriction [on visiting churches] was in effect for a week in April. Now churches are open, services are held in compliance with sanitary standards,” noted representatives of the diocese.

Divine services with the participation of parishioners, canceled due to quarantine, resumed on May 21 in the Pskov region. True, for now they are held only on the street, near churches; for now you can go inside only during free time from services. This approach is also used in the Holy Dormition Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, one of the oldest and largest male monasteries in Russia. The territory of the monastery was specially marked out for pilgrims. White shaded rectangles are marked with chalk at a distance of a couple of meters from each other; parishioners should be on them during the service. On the porch of the temple there are microphones for priests and several audio speakers: thanks to this, prayers and chants can be heard by every person anywhere in the cathedral square.

In the churches of the Khabarovsk diocese, services with the participation of believers did not stop even amid the spread of the pandemic, but it still made its own adjustments. Volunteers monitor compliance with sanitary standards in the premises. Parishioners under 14 years of age and over 65 years of age are not allowed to attend services. If necessary, priests come directly to their home, and the rite of communion is performed there.

“Divine services with the participation of parishioners have not stopped, but they are held in compliance with all necessary sanitary standards and rules. In particular, people are kept at a distance of 1-2 meters from each other, social distance is controlled by volunteers, it is mandatory to wear masks; if you don’t have a mask, volunteers will provide one. In the churches themselves, regular cleaning and ventilation are carried out, icons are disinfected, the communion tray is disinfected after each person,” Hieromonk Nikolai (Belozerov), secretary of the Khabarovsk diocese, told TASS.

The churches of the Khanty-Mansi diocese also began to work under new conditions. “The churches of Ugra were not closed, no one kicked out people who came, naturally, while observing generally accepted [security] standards. We ask everyone to wear masks, gloves, and we sanitize their hands when they enter the church,” Deacon Anthony Dolgushin, chairman of the department for relations between the church and society and the media of the Khanty-Mansi diocese, told TASS.

How churches will fight coronavirus

In the Tver region, staying in the temple is allowed only with masks;
candle makers can be in the temple wearing masks and rubber gloves, the press service of the head of the region told RBC. During confession, the priest will wear a mask; parishioners are encouraged to convey their sins to the clergyman in writing. There will be special markings in churches to maintain social distancing. The Yuzhno-Sakhalin and Kuril diocese instructs parishioners on the independent procedure for blessing Easter cakes, and also asks those who do go to churches not to venerate the icons, not to kiss the cross and the right hand of the clergyman. In several regions, including the Samara, Tyumen, and Bryansk regions, government officials told RBC that Easter cakes would be blessed in production so that parishioners would not have to go to church.

The authorities of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug announced the “#EasterWindows” campaign, calling on Orthodox Christians in conditions of self-isolation to light candles in the windows on Easter night, the press service of the head of the region told RBC. In many regions, regardless of the decision on the admission of parishioners to churches, citizens’ access to cemeteries is limited until April 30.

Online services

After the closure, many churches began broadcasting services on the Internet and continue to do so now. Online services are held in the St. George Church of Vladimir, this is most often practiced by young priests. At the same time, services are not held in any of the chapels of the Assumption Cathedral of the Vladimir Diocese. The UNESCO site, painted by Andrei Rublev, is managed by the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve and is closed as a museum object.

As Hieromonk Nikolai (Belozerov), secretary of the Khabarovsk diocese, told TASS, many churches in the Khabarovsk Territory broadcast services through social networks and the diocese’s YouTube channel. The number of spectators reached 600, and the Easter service from the main temple of Khabarovsk, the Transfiguration Cathedral, was broadcast on a local TV channel.

“From the very beginning of restrictions on attending services in the Pskov diocese, churches and monasteries began broadcasting services online. Services performed by Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery are broadcast through the official YouTube channel of the Pskov diocese. An average of 10 thousand people take part in each such online service,” the Pskov diocese told TASS.

Where churches will be closed

The authorities of 42 regions managed to agree with church representatives to close churches to parishioners. Only clergy and volunteers will be able to enter churches. This regime will be introduced in Moscow, the Moscow region and St. Petersburg. In most cases, authorities refer to the order of the regional Rospotrebnadzor in connection with the spread of coronavirus.

The authorities of Primorye also followed this path. “Due to the epidemiological situation, the chief state sanitary doctor for the Primorsky Territory, Tatyana Detkovskaya, issued an order to the Primorsky Metropolis, represented by Metropolitan Vladimir of Primorsky and Vladivostok, to temporarily suspend citizens’ visits to churches and temple areas from April 15 to April 19,” the press reported to RBC. service of the head of the region. Church ministers will continue to serve in churches, and people who provide video broadcasts of the service will also be allowed to be there.

Patriarch Kirill allowed believers to bless Easter cakes at home Society

At the same time, legally, governors do not have the authority to control compliance with the regulations by churches.

For example, when asked whether churches in the Tomsk region will be closed in accordance with the order of the regional Rospotrebnadzor, the press secretary of Governor Sergei Zhvachkin answered RBC as follows: “Rospotrebnadzor issued an order to the diocese. How the diocese will implement it, and Rospotrebnadzor will control it, I cannot comment.”

“Temples and temple areas in the Pskov region are now closed to visitors,” Pskov region governor Mikhail Vedernikov told RBC. “Vladyka Tikhon and I tried until the last to avoid this decision. The Pskov Metropolis has developed all the necessary measures so that people can safely take part in divine services during Easter week. However, some church rectors grossly violated all regulations and exposed parishioners to unreasonable risks. Because of them, to our great regret and disappointment, a ban on visiting religious organizations has become inevitable.” Therefore, only clergy and people can now be in churches by appointment, for example, if there is a need to perform a funeral service for a relative.

Waiting for pilgrims

While churches are beginning to gradually open their doors to parishioners, the situation in monasteries is more complicated: most monasteries remain closed, and pockets of the spread of coronavirus have been recorded in a number of monasteries. This week, doctors reported an increase in the number of infected people at the St. Nicholas Verkhoturye Monastery in the Sverdlovsk region, as well as on the territory of the St. Vvedensky Convent in Ivanovo. Previously, an outbreak of coronavirus was detected in the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

However, the Kursk Root Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Monastery, a men’s monastery founded on the site of the appearance of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign,” one of the most revered shrines of the Russian Orthodox Church, can resume receiving pilgrims after June 1. The precautionary measures, as noted by the monastery administration, are related to the threat of the spread of coronavirus.

So far, access for pilgrims from other regions to the Solovetsky archipelago in the Arkhangelsk region, where the Spaso-Preobrazhensky stauropegic monastery, one of the most famous monastic complexes in Russia, has existed since the first half of the 15th century. Now only residents of the islands can enter the monastery: monks and those who live in the monastery, as well as parishioners from the village of Solovetsky, are present at the services.

“Our island is closed for isolation; we don’t know the opening date yet. The pilgrimage service receives many calls asking whether it is possible to come. We hope that there will still be such a possibility; measures for receiving pilgrims are being developed: perhaps certificates of absence of infection, masks, social distancing, reception in small groups,” added the representative of the pilgrimage service of the Solovetsky Monastery.

While a number of monasteries are developing rules for pilgrims, some have already switched to a mask regime and made changes to the norms of behavior of priests. Last week, Metropolitan Mercury of Rostov and Novocherkassk sent a letter to representatives of the clergy of the Donskoy Starocherkassky Ephraim Monastery and St. Iveron Convent introducing the mandatory wearing of masks by all clergy during all services. An exception is if clergy receive communion and consume holy gifts. At the same time, all clergy are recommended to refrain from kissing hands when blessing and “performing liturgical acts.”

Churches, chapels, temples in Moscow and Moscow Region: addresses, phone numbers, opening hours

CHURCH OF THE PLACEMENT OF THE CLOTH (MOSCOW KREMLIN), MUSEUM

Moscow, Central Administrative District, Tverskoy district

st. Cathedral Square

Nearest metro stations: Sokolnicheskaya line Biblioteka im. Lenina (477 m.), Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line Borovitskaya (513 m.), Filevskaya line Alexandrovsky Garden (530 m.)

tel.,

Opening hours: Mon-Wed: 10:00-17:00, Fri-Sat: 10:00-17:00

TEMPLE OF ST. ALEXIUS

Moscow, Central Administrative District, Tagansky district

st. Stanislavsky, 29, building 1

Nearest metro stations: Kalininskaya line Marksistskaya (803 m.), Kalininskaya line Ploshchad Ilyicha (972 m.), Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line Rimskaya (986 m.)

tel., +7 (968) 560-65-39

Opening hours: daily 8:00-20:00

SPASSKY TEMPLE IN ANDREEVKA

Central administrative district, Tagansky district st. Staroandreevskaya, 72

tel.

Opening hours: daily 7:00-19:00

TEMPLE OF ST. SERGIUS OF RADONEZH IN ROGOZHSKAYA SLOBODA

Moscow, Central Administrative District, Tagansky district

st. Nikoloyamskaya, 59

Nearest metro stations: Kalininskaya line Ploshchad Ilyicha (799 m.), Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya line Rimskaya (818 m.), Kalininskaya line Marksistskaya (963 m.)

tel.

Opening hours: daily 8:00-20:00