The Russian Orthodox Church refused to cancel the procession in the Urals in the midst of a pandemic

The administration of the Sverdlovsk region is negotiating with Metropolitan Eugene of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, who announced his intention to hold a traditional religious procession in memory of Emperor Nicholas II. It is reported by the TV channel "Rain".

The Russian Orthodox Church intends to arrange a massive "tsarist" event, despite the lack of approval for its holding due to the situation with the coronavirus. “It is wrong to conduct the procession on your own. We hope that no one will do that", - Kommersant quotes the vice-governor of the region, Sergei Bidonko.

Earlier, the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Yevgeny Kuyvashev, canceled the procession during the "Tsar's days" in the region due to the spread of the coronavirus. According to the head of the region on the social network Instagram , the decision to cancel the mass event was made on the basis of the sad experience of last year.

“Look at the photos - this is a religious procession last year. The participants are not wearing masks, the distance between the participants is not observed. Then it seemed to us that the pandemic was on the decline, but that was only the end of the first wave. We have several proven cases that people got sick just after the Royal days. They endured the disease rather hard, ”the governor commented on the decision.

He explained that the new strain, which is spreading over the area, was even more dangerous. A huge number of patients require oxygen support. Previously, there were no such massive complications.

“Therefore, this year we do not agree on the event and we will not block the roads, going to the procession on our own is dangerous”, - he said.

Kuyvashev suggested that subscribers wishing to join the pilgrimage to wait until next year.

However, Metropolitan Eugene (Kulberg) did not agree with the governor's decision and announced in his telegram channel that the procession should take place:

“In the current epidemic situation, there can be no perfect solutions. Everyone independently finds a balance between courage and fear, responsibility and courage, caution and boldness.

I will definitely go!

The decision of the authorities, who did not agree on the holding of the Tsar's religious procession, is well founded. Although one should not stigmatize believers as the culprits of the spread of the infection. "

The procession from the Church on Blood to Ganina Yama in honor of the 103th anniversary of the execution of the royal family was planned to be held on the night of July 17-18, and at the end of June the city authorities were seriously preparing for it.

Now observers are wondering with interest whether a situation similar to the "riot" of the rector of the Sredneuralsky monastery, Father Sergius, will repeat itself in Yekaterinburg. He also acted as a covid dissident, but was later arrested on a variety of criminal charges and placed in a pre-trial detention center.