When the faithful ask for the Holy Communion, a priest has no right to refuse. But I ask you: do not insist, Head of the UGCC

First of all, the UGCC introduces a dispensation from the church commandment which tells us every Sunday and every holiday to participate in worship in the temple. "In these extraordinary circumstances, the Church removes this obligation and invites you to stay home and watch online broadcasting," said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.

The second dispensation concerns a special obligation during Lent — while preparing for Easter it is necessary to receive the Holy Sacraments of Confession and Communion.

“For the sake of your health, our Church has proclaimed a dispensation, a release, from this obligation. It can be performed within a month after the quarantine. Therefore, when preparing for Easter, people who usually come to the church for Confession and Communion once a year, might intensely request these Sacraments these days. I especially ask them to take care of their health and safety and to do it later,” said the spiritual leader of the Ukrainians.

Instead, the Head of the Church encourages everyone to be united with Christ in the Eucharist through live streaming of Divine Liturgies.

He noted that Holy Communion is a particularly delicate moment today. Yes, even in these circumstances, when the faithful ask the priest to give Holy Communion, he has no moral right to refuse. "But I ask you: do not insist. In the present circumstances, I ask you to confess only in the danger of death. And we can give Holy Communion strictly according to the quarantine rules,” said the Head of the Church. His Beatitude Sviatoslav requested that priests perform worship in the churches without the presence of the faithful. Whenever possible, they should pray outside while maintaining social distance and other relevant sanitary regulations.

Even when a person asks for Holy Communion, says the Primate, the priest is obliged to make every effort to secure the sanitary safety of this Sacrament. A priest has a duty to wear a protective mask. The faithful should open their mouths wide and not touch the spoon. "Breathing itself can also be dangerous, so after the Communion, we ask our priests after each person to disinfect the spoon with a towel soaked in alcohol of appropriate concentration," he added. If priests give Holy Communion outside the temple, all the precautions mentioned above must be maintained, too.

Also, at this time, the Church gives special blessings and consecrations. On Palm Sunday we bless the willow branches, on Easter Sunday we bless our Easter baskets.

“This year, in the face of such extraordinary circumstances, we ask our faithful not to bring them for consecration to the church. You will be able to consecrate both the branches and Easter baskets in your homes through online broadcasts. Where it is not impossible to participate in the Easter service, the father of the family may sprinkle these dishes with holy water. And rest assured, even in this way you will be able to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ with dignity,” assured the Primate.

The Head of the UGCC once again called on the faithful and clergy to strictly abide by the quarantine rules because they are dictated by the need to save lives.

The UGCC Department for Information