As coronavirus cases surge globally, the COVID-19 deaths of two senior Serbian Orthodox Church clerics – one who died weeks after presiding over the funeral of the other – are raising questions about whether some religious institutions are doing enough to slow the spread of the virus.
More reports are emerging about people who attended religious services and contract the virus – some after parishioners seemed to ignore the pleas of church and health officials officials to wear masks, practice social distancing and other steps to combat the virus that’s killed nearly 1.4 million people worldwide.
A woman kisses a protective screen over the coffin of Patriarch Irinej as he lies in repose at the Congregational church in Belgrade, Serbia, on Saturday, 21st November. Mourners flocked to pay respects following the death of the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej, many ignoring preventive measures against the new coronavirus even though the head of the church died after contracting the virus himself. PICTURE: AP Photo/Ana Paunkovic.
In Belgrade, many mourners paying their respects Saturday to Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej ignored precautions and some kissed the glass shield covering the patriarch’s body, despite warnings not to do so from Serbia’s epidemiologists.
That scene unfolded three weeks after the 90-year-old Irinej led prayers at the funeral of Bishop Amfilohije in nearby Montenegro, an event attended by thousands where many kissed the bishop’s remains in an open casket.
SERBIAN PATRIARCH BURIED WITH FEW VIRUS MEASURES IN PLACE
Thousands of people on Sunday attended the funeral of Serbian Patriarch Irinej who died after contracting the coronavirus, many ignoring preventive measures against the pandemic.
Many mourners and most priests holding the funeral service in the massive St Sava Temple in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, didn’t wear masks or adhere to social distancing inside the church, kissing the glass shield covering Irinej’s remains and even using a single spoon during Holy Communion.
Irinej, 90, died on Friday, three weeks after attending the funeral of another cleric in neighbouring Montenegro in which mourners kissed his remains lying in an open casket although he also died from COVID-19 complications.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has asked mourners to keep their distance and wear face masks in line with the anti-virus recommendations, but even priests inside the temple were without masks. Serbian epidemiologists have said there was no way they could ban the traditional funeral prayers.
After reporting thousands of daily new cases of infections in the country of seven million people, authorities have warned that the health system has been overburdened with hospitals running out of beds.
Patriarch Irinej wielded considerable political influence in the Balkan country. The Patriarch was known for his criticism of Western policies in the Balkans and close ties he developed with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Serbia’s top leadership attended the funeral, including President Aleksandar Vucic, who spoke about Irinej’s legacy and praised his efforts to complete the construction of the St Sava Temple, the biggest Orthodox church in the Balkans.
“I’m ready to say, if it wasn’t for Irinej, it would have taken several more decades to complete this temple,” Vucic said.
Irinej was later buried in the crypt inside the temple.
– AP
The highly publicised episodes happened as Serbia reported thousands of newly confirmed infections daily in the country of seven million and as the government in recent days has tightened measures to hold off the virus. As the country’s health system strains to treat more and more people for the virus, some patients in Belgrade hospitals with less serious conditions are being transferred to hospitals elsewhere.
Those same kinds of tough decisions and terrible predicaments are playing out all across the United States.
California enacted a curfew starting Saturday night in an attempt to keep people away from parties, social mixing and drinking – the kinds of activities blamed for causing infections to soar. The state’s curfew will run from 10pm to 5am curfew for most of the state’s residents and last through at least 21st December.
“Large numbers of people getting together oblivious of controls – no masks, no social distancing, often indoors – a lot of those things are in fact occurring at night,” said Dr. Mark Cullen, an infectious disease expert who recently retired from Stanford University.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday that his eldest son, Donald Trump, Jr, is doing “very well” in quarantine after being infected with the virus. Trump, Jr, is among more than 12 million Americans who have been infected – and that total also includes the President himself, his wife and his youngest son.
In Texas, overflowing morgues prompted the state’s National Guard to send 36-member team to El Paso to help morgue workers handle the increasing number of COVID-19 deaths
“The Texas Military will provide us with the critical personnel to carry out our fatality management plan and we are very grateful to them for their ongoing support,” El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said late on Friday.
In North Carolina, the Charlotte Observer reported that three more people who attended large events at the United House of Prayer for All People in Charlotte last month died – boosting the total deaths linked to the church’s events to 12.
Public health contact tracers and other officials have connected more than 200 COVID-19 cases to the church’s events, including people who attended the events and those who came in contact with them, the newspaper reported.
And in Michigan, 61 pastors at Grand Rapids-area churches decided to stop holding in-person worship services, weddings and other big gatherings, largely in response to the pleas of the state’s healthcare workers, who have been overwhelmed by the surge in new cases
In Illinois, as the state tightened restrictions to combat an alarming surge in cases, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced that clergy and bereavement ministers won’t be required to attend graveside services if they are worried that more than 10 people could show up.
In Delaware, President-elect Joe Biden said all Americans should be able to attend religious services during the pandemic – as long as they do so safely.
Biden – the second Catholic elected US President – made the statement in response to a reporter’s shouted question as he walked out of church Saturday evening.
Biden was asked whether all Americans should be able to attend religious services during the pandemic and responded: “Yes, safely.”
He did not answer a follow up question about whether indoor services should be allowed.
The troubling developments linked to church gatherings came as officials across the US in cities and towns brace for an event synonymous with large gatherings: Thanksgiving Day.
Health officials are begging people not to travel for Thanksgiving and asking families to resist inviting anyone over to the house who does not already live there.
“Don’t let down your guard, even around close friends and relatives who aren’t members of your household,” Arizona’s health department said on Twitter.
