Metropolitan Onuphry Encourages Believers to Pray for Doctors and Follow Their Recommendations on COVID-19

Pravmir.com team | 21 October 2020

In connection with the autumn increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, urged believers to strengthen their prayers for doctors and to follow their recommendations.

“I urge everyone to pay close attention to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, to observe quarantine standards, not to ignore personal protective equipment, and to observe social distance and disinfection regime,” the Ukrainian Primate noted in his address on October 20, 2020.

His Beatitude Onuphry emphasized that in the current situation “entrance sanitary control should be carried out in churches and on church premises”.

The archpastor specifically pointed out the danger of coronavirus for the elderly, and therefore asked them “not to put themselves in danger, avoid places with a large crowd of people and not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary.”

Regarding medical workers, Metropolitan Onuphry urged believers “to strengthen … church and home prayers, including for doctors who continue to fight the pandemic at the cost of their own lives and health.”

Reminding that everything in life happens according to the will of God, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church expressed the hope that the current situation with the coronavirus “may not be a reason for despair or despondency, but be perceived as a test of our love, humility and patience.”

Also recalling that, according to the holy fathers, “diseases are given for spiritual cleansing and the salvation of the soul,” Metropolitan Onuphry pointed out that today the “blessed duty” of all believers is “to change their sinful life for the better and grow spiritually in Christian virtues”.

Since you are here…

…we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong.

Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable.

For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir.

If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life's purpose, family and society.