Patriarch Kirill urged the flock not to visit churches due to the pandemic

On March 29, 2020, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', during a sermon after the liturgy in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, appealed to the flock not to visit churches and pray at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He referred to the example of St. Mary of Egypt, praying in the desert, in solitude and called “in the coming days, until there is a special patriarchal blessing, to refrain from visiting churches” : “The Church calls today, before the sacrifices in our families, to take upon ourselves the obligation to strictly fulfill all the instructions that come from the sanitary authorities in Russia."

“Do not listen to any other sermons, including those coming from foolish clergymen - listen to what the Patriarch told you today, and not from himself, but from the great ascetic feat of the holy Venerable Mary of Egypt, who saved both body and soul by going to desert, in complete isolation from the people around her,” said the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Let us recall that earlier the legal department of the Moscow Patriarchate declared the ban on visiting churches in St. Petersburg to be contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and the “Forty Forties” movement called on Orthodox Christians not to obey this order.

Sources

• Patriarchal sermon on the 4th Sunday of Great Lent after the Liturgy in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior // Patriarchia.ru. 2020. March 29.