Met. Pavel speaks about situation with COVID-19 in Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

Met. Pavel speaks about the situation with the incidence in the monastery. Photo: a video screenshot from the YouTube channel “Lavra. Path of Salvation”

On May 2, 2020, on the eve of the Day of Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, the abbot of the Holy Dormition Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavel of Vyshgorod and Chernobyl, recorded a video message in which he congratulated all women on the upcoming women's day and spoke about the real situation with the incidence of COVID-19 in the monastery.

“I heartily thank all our myrrh-bearing women, on whom the Church and society rest,” said the hierarch in his address published on the YouTube channel “Lavra. Path of Salvation". “These are our mothers, these are our sisters, these are our benefactors, our journalists, doctors – all those kind people who recognize Christ as their Saviour and who do works of mercy. “Congratulations, dear women, on your holiday, because it is truly a women's day, a world day because the Lord has chosen the best of the best – you, dear women.”

Metropolitan Pavel also provided relevant information about the situation with the incidence in the monastery, as “today there are many disagreements in the media about the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and other monasteries.”

“There are more than 200 brethren in the holy monastery. 68 fell ill, in 19 сases the diagnosis was not confirmed, 28 people were tested positive, he said. 25 people were hospitalized, today two people are in hospital, the rest are on self-isolation. But among those 25 who were hospitalized, there were those were not diagnosed with the coronavirus – heart attacks and such common diseases that people have. Therefore, I remind you once again that the Lord is merciful to us, and practically we are almost all at home.”

The hierarch emphasized that “today, with God's grace, everything is done in the Holy Lavra according to the instructions of doctors, whom we are very, very grateful for their work, for the fact that they save not only monks but also try to help and meet each person. I myself was in hospital for a week and saw their hard work, which we often do not appreciate. ”

“And we, dear brothers and sisters, must unite to thank God and help the doctors who sacrificially serve and give their lives for us. <...> Disasters unite people. We must unite if we love our country, if we love our people, if we value our lives. We must change our lives, we must bear worthy fruits of repentance, we must pray for each other, whatever your faith is. I once again urge everyone to see through Risen Christ in the man not an enemy but a brother and a friend. May the Lord help us all,” summed up Metropolitan Pavel, thanking for prayers and calling for God's blessing on all.

As reported earlier, the UOC refuted the fake that all the monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra fell ill.

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