On March 13, 2020, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, after the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at the Moscow Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” on Bolshaya Ordynka, addressed the faithful with an archpastoral word devoted to the coronavirus pandemic:
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Today the whole world has frozen in fear of the coronavirus. Every day we hear frightening figures about new cases and new deaths; we hear how quickly this epidemic is spreading, and many hearts sink in fear of the future.
How should we react to all this news?
First of all, we must remember that every day on this earth people die of all kinds of diseases, viruses and infections. Every winter thousands of people die of influenza. But these figures are unknown to anyone, because everyone is used to thinking that the flu is a disease from which few die and most recover.
Why has the world been seized by panic over the coronavirus in particular? Because this virus is new and unknown, no vaccine has been invented against it, and cases of infection are appearing in more and more countries, including our own.
The activities of many people and many companies are now paralyzed, because people have stopped traveling and stopped meeting each other.
How should we believers respond to all this and regard it?
First of all, we must not give in to panic. We should never panic in the face of any calamities — natural or otherwise. It is important to remember that the life of every person, including each of us, is in the hands of God. If the Lord does not protect us, no one will preserve us. If the Lord wishes to take our earthly life from us, He will take it in any case and, if necessary, will find a way to do so — with or without a virus.
We must regard what is happening with us and around us with complete humility and obedience to the will of God. At the same time, we should not neglect the warnings and simple advice that medical workers are giving everyone today. We hear very simple recommendations: wash your hands more often before eating, after contact with people, after coming home from outside. If you have a cold, refrain from going out into the city; do not go to work. I would add: do not come to church, so as not to infect other people or pass the infection to them.
In some countries where the coronavirus has spread, churches have been closed to prevent services from being held. I do not think this is the right response, because worship has never harmed anyone. On the contrary, when people come to church to pray, they ask God’s mercy not only for themselves but also for all those outside the church walls, including unbelievers.
Unbelievers think that we gather in church simply to satisfy our religious needs. They believe that to prevent the spread of the virus one can simply close the church for a while, perhaps for several weeks or months, and then, when the epidemic passes, the churches can be reopened. They do not understand that prayer, on the contrary, protects people — not only those who pray but also those around them. It is no accident that many holy fathers and elders said that the world stands as long as the Church stands, and that it is the Church, by her prayers and her presence in this world, that protects people from all evil.
Therefore we must regard what is happening around us with complete calm.
If any of us travel abroad for work (of whom I am chief), we should cut back on such trips as much as possible. We must understand that all flights are now quite dangerous, since on a plane there are people breathing the same air as you. And among several hundred people one passenger is enough, if not to infect others, then at least to put others in a situation where they will have to spend several days or weeks in quarantine. Therefore, if it is possible to reduce trips abroad or give them up altogether, it is better to do so.
But above all, let us pray, trust in the will of God, receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ and use the time of Great Lent to walk in spiritual concentration the path of repentance that the Holy Church has opened for us. On this path we are helped by the whole structure of Lenten services, and especially by the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, which is celebrated on Wednesdays and Fridays both morning and evening for all who wish to come and receive Communion on these days, in order to strengthen themselves spiritually and physically.
Let us remember that Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is a Sacrament through which the Lord Himself strengthens and heals us. We receive this Sacrament for the healing of soul and body, and through it we are united with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who protects us from all evil, deifies our human nature, lives in us and through us communicates with other people.
With these feelings and thoughts, strengthened by the prayers of the saints, let us pass through the course of Great Lent, and with complete calm and complete trust in the will of God live under the protection of the Lord Himself and of our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos, Who protects us from all evil with her precious omophorion. Amen.”
DECR Communication Service