A prominent leader of the Ukrainian church who in the past said that the COVID-19 pandemic was “God’s punishment” for same-sex marriage has tested positive for the virus.
Patriarch Filaret, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Orthodox Church-Patriarchate of Kiev, would be solid and in treatment. The church announced in a Facebook post on September 4 that Filaret had tried COVID-19.
“His Holiness Patriarch Filaret is especially grateful to all who show his love and prayers for his health,” the church said Tuesday in a statement.
“Today, Patriarch Filaret’s aptitude is stable, the remedy continues. We ask you to continue to pray for His Holiness Patriarch Filaret, so that the Lord God All Merciful and Almighty may heal the Patriarch and heal him from his illness.
The 91-year-old man made headlines in March when he told a Ukrainian television station that the coronavirus crisis was “God’s punishment for the sins of men, the sin of humanity. “
“First of all, same-sex marriage,” he added.
Read also:
Ukrainian LGBTQ organization Insight sued the leader for his comments, saying his comments could fuel hatred and discrimination. The trial required an apology from Filaret and a retraction from him and the television station, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reported.
“Our purpose is to show others that there is no more room for such statements from church leaders in Ukraine,” Olena Shevchenko, director of Insight, told the organization in April.
Amnesty International Ukraine condemned Filaret at the time.
“Such statements . . . they are very destructive because they can lead to a build-up of attacks, assaults, discrimination and acceptance of violence opposed to certain groups,” Maria Guryeva, the organization’s spokesperson, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The church responded to the demand by saying, “As head of the church and as a man, the patriarch has the freedom to express his views on morality. “
The Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Orthodox Church in Kiev is one of the largest Christian denominations in the country. Members of the Kiev Patriarchate accounted for approximately 25% of Ukraine’s 27. 8 million Orthodox believers in 2016, according to the Ukrainian Razumkov Center tank.
Same-sex relationships are legal in Ukraine, the country does not lately recognize same-sex marriage, according to the LGBT database site Equaldex. Ukraine ranks 35th out of 49 countries in a ranking of European countries for LGBTQ friendship, according to the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Association , Trans and Intersex (ILGA-Europe).
On Wednesday, there were more than 143,000 cases shown of COVID-19 in Ukraine and nearly 3,000 others died.
Video of the day: DISINFECTANT EXTRACTORS Families remain bloodless after evictions from Kariobangi wastewater treatment plant
Download from Google Playstore
Download the IOS Appstore
Download from Google Playstore
Download the IOS Appstore
Download from Google Playstore
Download the IOS Appstore