COMMUNIQUE
March 13th, 2020
With sadness in my heart, but also with a sense of Christian and civic responsibility, I write again to you about the crisis created by the coronavirus-related pandemic (COVID-19). As I communicated yesterday to the parish priests, the challenge of coronavirus remains important but must be approached with realism, without panic and with faith in God.
We must continue as Church - clergy and faithful - to use the means at hand - prayer, fasting, care and love for those around us and others - to be close to those affected by this pandemic.
You were able to track across multiple media channels the measures taken by Canadian federal and local authorities to limit the chances of coronavirus contamination (COVID-19). So I urge you to consider the following:
- The parish priests and the faithful of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada, along with the parishes and monasteries within its jurisdiction, are invited to follow the directives and instructions of the Canadian government and of the federal and local public health authorities and to cooperate with them for the detection of symptoms and the prevention of the contamination with coronavirus (COVID-19) in order to resolve the created situation as quickly as possible.
- One of the directives states that at the same time within a confined space there should be no more than two hundred and fifty (250) persons in the provinces of British-Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland Labrador. In the case of the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island their number may not exceed one hundred and fifty (150) persons. Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut follow the same directives as above.
In this regard, at the religious services, on Sundays or weekly, at any time, the parish priests and the members of the parish councils will ensure that the number of those present in the Church does not exceed two hundred and fifty (250) respectively one hundred and fifty (150) persons depending on provinces listed above. If the maximum number is reached, they will be directed to participate in the religious services of the surrounding parishes with a smaller number of participants. I urge the parish priests, the members of the parish councils and all faithful to strictly follow these instructions.
We pray to Good God to pass this period of crisis all of us responsibly and faithfully to Him.
I wish you a blessed period of Great Lent, strengthened in the faith and in the hope of eternal life, with energy to work and with a strong health so that you may be prepared to celebrate the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
With love and paternal blessing,
+Ioan Casian
Romanian Orthodox Bishop of Canada
Saint-Hubert, Mars 13th 2020
