• Menu
  • Menu
  • News
  • Subscribe now
    Digital subscription Print+Digital (Bundle) ePaper subscription
  • Logout
Digital subscription
Print+Digital (Bundle)
ePaper subscription
Trending
UAE holidays 2023 Golf in UAE
  • Latest News
  • UAE Success Stories
  • UAE
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Government
    • Health
      • Why Worry
    • Transport
    • Science
    • Weather
    • Ask the Law
    • Reader Complaint
  • Living In UAE
    • Visa+Immigration
    • Housing
    • Phone+Internet
    • Banking
    • Transport
    • Health
    • Education
    • Relocate
    • Ask Us
    • Safety+Security
  • Business
    • Banking
    • Aviation
    • Property
    • Energy
    • Analysis
    • Tourism
    • Markets
    • Retail
    • Corporate News
  • Best Buys
    • Electronics
    • Home and Kitchen
    • Offers
    • Consumables
    • Lifestyle
  • Your Money
    • Saving and Investment
    • Budget Living
    • Taxation
    • Expert Columns
    • Community Tips
    • Cryptocurrency
  • Food
    • Cooking and Cuisines
    • Guide to Cooking
    • Videos
  • Friday
    • Beauty
    • Wellbeing
    • Art & People
    • Home
  • Games
    • Daily Crossword
    • Sudoku
    • Word Search
    • Spell It
    • Play
  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Baby
    • Learning & Play
    • Child Health
    • For Mums & Dads
    • Ask Us
    • Games
  • World
    • Gulf
      • Bahrain
      • Kuwait
      • Oman
      • Qatar
      • Saudi
      • Yemen
      • Games
    • Mena
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
      • India
      • Pakistan
      • Philippines
    • Oceania
    • Offbeat
    • Coronavirus
    • Special Reports
    • Corrections
    • 2022 in review
  • Opinion
    • Op-Eds
    • Letters
    • From the Editors
  • Play Games
  • Qatar World Cup 2022
    • News & Views
    • Travel
    • Teams
    • Players to Watch
    • Match Centre
  • Magical Dubai
    • Dubai Life
    • Live the Luxury
    • Culture and History
    • Adventure
    • Staying Connected
  • Special Reports
  • Photos
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Sports
  • Sport
    • UAE Sport
    • Horse Racing
      • Dubai World Cup
    • Cricket
      • IPL
        • Chennai
        • Delhi
        • Punjab
        • Kolkata
        • Mumbai
        • Rajasthan
        • Bangalore
        • Hyderabad
        • Gujarat
        • Lucknow
        • Live Scores
        • Point Table
        • Top Scorers
      • ICC
      • T20 World Cup 2022
    • Motorsport
    • Football
      • Qatar World Cup 2022
    • Tennis
    • Rugby
    • Golf in UAE
      • UAE
      • World
      • Photos & Videos
      • Course Reviews
      • Learn to Play
      • Gear
  • Entertainment
    • Hollywood
    • Bollywood
    • Pakistani Cinema
    • South Indian
    • Arab Celebs
    • Music
    • TV
    • Books
    • Theatre
    • Arts+Culture
  • Expo 2020
  • Going Out
  • Auto
  • Lifestyle
    • Health+Fitness
    • Community
    • Fashion
  • GN Reach
  • Jobs
  • Tech
    • Electronics
    • Gaming
    • Media
  • Videos
    • How-To
    • Best Of Bollywood
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Business
    • Sport
    • Community
    • Technology
  • Travel
  • GN Focus
    • Special Features
  • Mind Your Migraine
  • 50 MENA Leaders
  • The Kurator
    • Share
    • Dare
    • Flair
  • Bayat Chapters
  • Gold-Forex
  • Gratuity Calculator
  • Notifications
  • Gold/Forex
  • Prayer Times
  • Cinema Listing
  • GN Store
  • About Gulf News
  • Contact us
  • Work with us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Reach by GN
  • GN Focus
  • Gulf News epaper
  • Sitemap
  • Have your say
  • Printing Services
  • © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2023. All rights reserved.
    Russian Orthodox priest tends to Moscow's COVID-19 patients

    Photos

    Login / Sign Up
    Logout
    Friday, February 3, 2023
    Gold / Forex

    Photos News

    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Sports
    All Sections

    Russian Orthodox priest tends to Moscow's COVID-19 patients

    I won't allow fear to stand in the way of performing my clerical duties, says the priest


    Published:  June 06, 2020 12:52 AP  and  compiled by Balaram Menon, Digital Content Editor

    1 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_03528.jpg-b65f3~1-1591433134548
    The Rev. Vasily Gelevan, wearing a biohazard suit and gloves, blesses Lyudmila Polyak, 86, a COVID-19 patient at her apartment in Moscow. Image Credit: AP
    2 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_45593.jpg-3952d-1591433103233
    The bedside ministry is one of many such visits the 45-year old Russian Orthodox priest makes daily as he shuttles across Moscow in a minivan to tend to people fighting the coronavirus at their homes or in hospital rooms. Image Credit: AP
    3 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_33863.jpg-ed432~1-1591433110850
    Gelevan's family at first wasn't happy with his decision to come in close contact with those infected with the virus, but the father of five sees pastoral care as a responsibility he can't refuse, especially during a pandemic. Image Credit: AP
    4 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_37872.jpg-fd138~1-1591433114331
    "I put myself in their place," he said. "For me, the visit of a priest giving Holy Communion would be the most desirable thing. It doesn't matter that I wouldn't see his face. I would hear his voice, he would come and embrace me, show his sympathy and bring me the most precious thing in the world - the Holy Communion!" Image Credit: AP
    5 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_05381.jpg-d6750~1-1591433138065
    For several years before the coronavirus outbreak, the priest visited the gravely ill at Moscow hospitals. Then the coronavirus hit the Russian capital. Image Credit: AP
    6 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_78102.jpg-25433~1-1591433130478
    "They called me and said that there is a lot of work to do, many people are sick, and there are few who are trained to overcome the stress and enter the red zone to offer help," Gelevan said. "I felt that I must answer the call." Above: Father Gelevan blesses Tamara Trusova, 90, who is suspected of having coronavirus, at her apartment in Moscow. Image Credit: AP
    7 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_32487.jpg-f7eea~1-1591433107338
    Along with needing to reassure his family - "They told me that I was playing a hero," Gelevan said - the priest had to cope with his own fear of exposure as the virus rapidly engulfed Russia. Image Credit: AP
    8 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_71057.jpg-3c90f~1-1591433126443
    Moscow has accounted for about half of the nation's more than 449,000 confirmed cases, the world's third-highest number after the United States and Brazil. Russia reported 5,520 virus-related deaths as of Friday. Above: Father Gelevan gives Holy Communion to Serafima Matveyeva, 92, who is suspected of being infected with the coronavirus, at her apartment in Moscow. Image Credit: AP
    9 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_27102.jpg-b1432~1-1591433154486
    Gelevan recalled that the first time he went to first visit a COVID-19 patient, he was shocked to see cotton stuffed into the keyhole of the woman's apartment door. He assumed it was put there to protect the neighbours from the virus. It turned out that the woman had blocked the keyhole long before to protect herself from the neighbour's tobacco smoke. Image Credit: AP
    10 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_62252.jpg-85465~1-1591433122545
    "I often remember that keyhole," the priest said. "I realised that the eyes of fear see danger everywhere." Above: Father Gelevan takes rest after conducting a funeral service at a hospital morgue in Moscow. Image Credit: AP
    11 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_15920.jpg-edac5~1-1591433146394
    Gelevan said he wears all the required gear to keep himself from becoming infected and takes other necessary precautions, but won't allow fear to stand in the way of performing his clerical duties. Above: A volunteer disinfects father Gelevan after a visit to a patient. Image Credit: AP
    12 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_26432.jpg-044a6~1-1591433150465
    "You just need to find a middle way without falling into extremes - being panicky or going into COVID-19 denial," he said. Above: A volunteer helps father Gelevan put on a biohazard suit and gloves before visiting a patient. Image Credit: AP
    13 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_09385.jpg-38779~1-1591433142363
    Gelevan serves as a priest at Moscow's Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin in Sokolniki, which was built by the Russian imperial army in 1906. During Soviet times, the church housed a military unit, and after the Russian Orthodox Church reclaimed it in the early 2000s it became the official church of the Russian airborne forces. Image Credit: AP
    14 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_56577.jpg-174a3-1591433094889
    The church, like all churches in Russia, has been closed to parishioners since April 13 and is set to reopen on Saturday. In the recent times of illness and disruption, Gelevan sees a message to humankind to abandon its arrogance and correct its mistakes. Above: Father Gelevan conducts a funeral service for a person who died of apoplexy at the church. Image Credit: AP
    15 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_41724.jpg-1c731~1-1591433118440
    "We shall weep and then calm down, raise from our knees and go forward," he said. "We will become simpler and more humane, filled with more love for ourselves and others and also the world around us." Image Credit: AP
    16 of 16
    Copy of Virus_Outbreak_Russia_Priest_42509.jpg-1a084-1591433099041
    Father Gelevan speaks to Lyudmila Polyak, 86, who is suspected of being infected with the coronavirus, at her apartment in Moscow. Image Credit: AP

    Trending

    • 31 actors in Hollywood with Arab roots

      31 actors in Hollywood with Arab roots


    • Look: Samsung S23 features 200mp camera, better battery

      Look: Samsung S23 features 200mp camera, better battery


    • Top 5 gaming titles to look forward to in 2023

      Top 5 gaming titles to look forward to in 2023

    Latest In

    • Philippines plans retail euro bond

      8 minutes ago

    • Air raid sirens sound in Kyiv as EU leaders visit

      14 minutes ago

    • How to make Japanese Chicken Katsu Sando

      21 minutes ago

    • Ask the law: I worked for 2 years without pay

      21 minutes ago

    • Can I be sued for my employer’s bounced cheques?

      22 minutes ago

    Go back to top
    Network links:
    • Friday
    • Watch Time
    • getthat
    • Jobs
    • GN Store
    • About Gulf News
    • Contact us
    • Work with us
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Advertise with us
    • Reach by GN
    • GN Focus
    • Gulf News epaper
    • Sitemap
    • Have your say
    • Printing Services
    Find us on Social
    © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2023. All rights reserved.
    This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you. Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our Privacy Policy.
    Share on Facebook
    Share on Twitter
    Share on Whatsapp
    Share on Mail
    Share on LinkedIn
    Close
    Gulf News

    Get Breaking News Alerts From Gulf News

    We’ll send you latest news updates through the day. You can manage them any time by clicking on the notification icon.

    Subscribe No Thanks
    Continue reading Gulf News
    Dear Reader, please register to read gulfnews.com

    Dear Reader,

    This section is about Living in UAE and essential information you cannot live without.

    Register to read and get full access to gulfnews.com

    Create your account
    or login if you already have one
    First name is required.
    Last name is required.
    Please enter a valid email address.
    Password should have minimum 7 characters with at least one letter and number
    Passwords do not match

    By clicking below to sign up, you're agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

    Login your account
    New to Gulf News? Sign up now
    Please enter your email address.
    Please enter your password.

    Forgot password

    or