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KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainians prepared to celebrate Orthodox Easter this weekend under the watchful eye of authorities who have tightened blockade measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus and fined people for violating the rules.
FILE PHOTO: A man in a protective face mask walks past benches that have been taped to prevent people from sitting on them during the coronavirus outbreak in Kiev, Ukraine, April 17, 2020. REUTERS / Gleb Garanich / File Photo
While it does not close churches, the government has effectively banned attendance by not allowing services with more than 10 people present, and has only allowed people to travel in public places alone or in pairs.
Most church leaders have followed through and agreed to broadcast their services online and on television.
Priests consecrated traditional Easter breads directly in bakeries and factories before selling them, to prevent devotees from bringing them to priests. In the villages, Easter baskets were left at the garden gates for the priests to consecrate.
But the police announced criminal proceedings against some violators of the rules, for example against a procession in Sambir in western Ukraine, which authorities said violated regulations on social distancing and the use of mandatory masks.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to stay home for Easter, aware of a possible increase in infections from a disease that has killed 125 people in the country.
One of the critical points of contagion has been a sprawling 1,000-year-old monastery complex in Kiev, where around 100 people were infected and two died.
The monastery had initially criticized the government’s quarantine measures and urged people to continue going to church. Kiev authorities have closed the complex.
“This whole situation shows that their nationality, gender or religion are not important to the coronavirus,” Zelenskiy said, referring to the monastery. “It shows that you can’t have a careless attitude toward the disease.”
The monastery is the seat of the wing of the Russian-backed Ukrainian Orthodox Church known as the Moscow Patriarchate, which has accused the Kiev government of “threats and blackmail” in trying to prevent people from going to church.
Its leader, Metropolitan Onuphriy, drew increased scrutiny by suggesting that people would gather to celebrate Easter on the streets if they did not in churches.
Archbishop Kliment, a church spokesman, said by phone that the church was obeying the government’s quarantine rules.
“We try to meet the requirements and we don’t allow more than 10 people to enter each temple,” he said.
When asked about Onuphriy’s comments, Kliment said Onuphriy had not called people to the street, but noted that they would do it themselves and that they would have to be handled properly.
“So it is better to organize it correctly than to stick your head in the sand and think that it is not happening,” he said.
Written by Matthias Williams; Editing by Mark Heinrich
