A leading figure of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church who blamed gay people for the coronavirus pandemic has himself tested positive for the disease.
Patriarch Filaret is one of the most senior religious figures in Ukraine and is notoriously outspoken on a whole bunch of different issues, as you’d imagine.
Back in March, the 91-year-old church leader went on Ukrainian national TV to spew drivel about the pandemic, claiming that it was “God’s punishment for the sins of men, the sinfulness of humanity.”
“First of all, I mean same-sex marriage,” he added. Marriage equality is not yet legal in Ukraine, for reference.
At the time, a leading queer rights organisation in the country even sued him for promoting hatred and discrimination.
Just six months on from those fateful comments, Filaret’s church took to Facebook to announce that he too had contracted COVID-19. No mention was made of the possible cause, spiritual or otherwise.
“We inform that during planned testing, His Holiness Patriarch Filaret of Kiev and All Rus-Ukraine tested positive for COVID-19,” the statement said.
“Currently, the Holy Bishop is undergoing a course of treatment in hospital.
“We ask for holy prayers for the health and recovery of Patriarch Filaret.”
Filaret’s platform is huge, with one Ukrainian think tank estimating his followers make up around a quarter of the whole country, while other estimates put it as high as 15 million worshipers.
Hopefully his followers will appreciate the importance of getting tested for COVID-19, as well as the fact that blaming the gays is complete and utter bullshit.
Filaret is now in a stable condition, meaning he’ll hopefully have some time to re-think his earlier comments.
