PATRIARCH KIRILL STATED ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF GETIING INFECTED WITH COVID-19 WHEN RECEIVING COMMUNION

At a meeting in the Moscow Danilovsky Monastery, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, said that the holy gifts used during communion were not susceptible to coronavirus infection.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church said this, addressing the members of the Synod. According to the information on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate, not a single deacon who consumed holy gifts from a common bowl "got infected and will not get infected." Patriarch Kirill noted that he himself consumed gifts "without any doubt" and with confidence that the infection was not transmitted through them.

The Patriarch declared that the healing abilities of the Christ's holy mysteries should not be questioned.

During communion in the ROC, wine and bread are used, symbolizing the blood and body of Christ. By tradition, they need to be taken by hand and drunk from a common dish (with a common spoon) Since the beginning of the pandemic, churches have received recommendations according to which the spoon should be processed after each person, and the wine should be dispensed in a disposable container. In addition, believers are no longer allowed to kiss the priest's hand, the cross, and the cup.

Despite the words about the healing of holy gifts, Patriarch Kirill added that the Russian Orthodox Church was observing the anti-epidemic measures. For example, believers are required to use masks and receive communion in a special way.

In total, more than 4,700 clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church got sick, 151 patients died.