Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Ivano-Frankivsk UGCC Volodymyr Viytishin has already been vaccinated and believes that everyone should be vaccinated. He notes that the Church supports voluntary vaccination. The Holy Fathers Pope Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (who is over 90 years old) were vaccinated and wrote an open letter that there are no religious biases about vaccination, because this is one of the ways to protect yourself.
Metropolitan Volodymyr told about this to the media outlet Blitz Info.
"We want to go to Europe, but the EU countries have already vaccinated almost the entire population, and we have at least 30% vaccinated? The state has purchased a vaccine and it has deadlines. If people are not vaccinated, the vaccine is disposed of. The state budget will not spend funds again in the hope that we will come to our senses. It is typical that in the future vaccination may already be paid," says the hierarch.
According to him, the UGCC is working on vaccination among priests.
"We say with the clergy that since we work with people like teachers, doctors, officials, we must protect ourselves... Although it is worth noting that vaccination rates are quite high among the clergy because we should be an example. Our Father, His Beatitude Sviatoslav was vaccinated, I was vaccinated to show that there is nothing terrible in this," the Metropolitan stressed.
When asked whether the 15% of Carpathian residents who believe that it is impossible to get covid in the church, because it is a holy place, are right, the hierarch replied:
"You can get infected everywhere. Although in the temple we try to follow all the advice of doctors in a very disciplined manner. They began to clean and disinfect surfaces more often, took away carpets so that dust would not settle, took away icons so that people would not kiss. They also gave voice acting on the street so that people could listen on the street, priests give Communion on the street. We also urge those who are sick and older to refrain from visiting the temple for a certain period of time. That is, we have done everything possible on ourselves, and the rest depends on the consciousness of people."
According to him, the Church works closely with health officials. Priests have orders to buy masks and distribute them in the church to those who do not have them. Every day in the churches of the UGCC they pray for the end of the pandemic.
"Now there are a lot of "horror stories". In my opinion, this is a hybrid war... In social networks, they write tall tales to frighten people, to divide society. This is profitable for someone. We should not succumb to these provocations, but should calmly and cheerfully think about all these things, listen to the opinion of doctors and make an independent decision... An unvaccinated person loses much more than someone who has been vaccinated. After all, vaccinated people get one injection, and not vaccinated people get all sorts of chemicals, antibiotics and injections when they get sick. It is necessary to listen to the opinion of doctors and get vaccinated. This will open the door for us. In conclusion, I want to say that we all already realize that if we follow the rules, we will be able to avoid the deterioration of the situation. Each of us should follow all the recommendations of doctors: wash our hands, wear masks, keep our distance, and get vaccinated. Together, we will be able to survive this difficult time," Metropolitan Volodymyr concluded.