Vladimir Rozanskij

The patriarch justifies the u-turn by citing Saint Mary the Egyptian, "who lived for 47 years in the desert in absolute isolation, observing fasting". But the most intransigent Orthodox accuse him of giving in to the "phobias of the godless". Protoierej Georgij Mitrofanov: People have no faith in state power. Officials are "ready to spread any lie" to save themselves. Putin as "miraculous healer". The invention of a test that gives results within 2 and a half hours.

Kazakhstan announces 49 cases; Kyrgyzstan 42; Uzbekistan 55. Quarantine, military control and economic aid. Nur-Sultan promises 300 billion tenge (about 700 million dollars) to create 200 thousand new jobs. In Almaty car processions with the relic of the Cross and of saints Nicholas and Luka Vojno-Jasenetskij.

Official figures in Russia speak of 438 infections and one victim. The economic consequences of the pandemic are worrying. The Orthodox Church steps up hygiene measures, but continues to hold Eucharistic celebrations, processions, veneration of icons. Russian Muslims have begun continuous reading of the Koran. Ekaterinburg nuns burn incense made from "lavender, geranium, basil and lemon, with great antiviral effect". Syrian rue is smoked in Turkmenistan; in Belarus, Lukashenko recommends "drinking more vodka". The sound of bells drives out viruses.

Prayers can be inserted into the Divine Liturgy or recited at home. “God sent the virus that human civilisation may understand the limits of its own possibilities, and become aware of its own fragility.” “God is necessary for everyone”.

So far the official statistics speak of 93 positive cases; the majority (83) would have contracted the infection abroad. The country is closing communication links with neighboring nations. Moscow limits meetings with more than 50 people. No closure of churches; distribution of communion with disposable spoons. Patriarch Kirill celebrates 44 years of episcopal ordination.

The Synod of the Patriarchate of Moscow: disinfect the icons, kissed for devotion; beware of blessed drinks. For some priests, communion, being a sign of God's love, cannot bring us sickness and death. The Greek Church is more cautious. The long lines to kiss the relics of Saint John the Baptist in Saint Petersburg. But Russia is more concerned with Putin's "crown".

The Orthodox Church has always admitted the uxorato priesthood. The priests' wives are called matushki (the "mothers"). The meeting did not raise protests or demands, but brought to light the complex problems these women face.

Putin recieves the commission proposals. The three main formulas: faith in God "transmitted by our ancestors"; the Russian people as "constitutive of the state"; marriage as a "union of man and woman". Ethnic, cultural and religious "Russianness" as a unifying and dominant factor. But not everyone - including Muslims and lay people - agrees. Reminiscences of medieval conceptions leading to sovereignty.

The demonstration in Ala-Too square had started with 2 thousand people demanding the release of a jailed deputy . Government accused of collusion with foreign investors bent on the exploitation of the country's natural resources. Protesters from other regions come together. All available law enforcement agencies mobilised.

At the beginning of the Lenten period, groups of people demonstrated in the city with signs bearing biblical phrases. Solidarity with those imprisoned for reasons of conscience. The social and political activity of those "who go to church".

The rally, rather marginal, wanted to condemn the autocephaly granted to the Ukrainian Church. The patriarchs of Moscow, Serbia and Jerusalem were present, along with metropolitans of Kiev and Slovakia. Deep intestine divisions. For Bartholomew: A farce.

People protested against the arrival in Poltava region of 73 evacuees from China, including 45 Ukrainians as well as citizens of Norway, Israel, Belarus, Spain, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Panama and other countries. Protesters blocked roads and threw stones at buses carrying the evacuees. The Church urged the faithful to not let “fear of disease cloud our mind and our conscience, our very humanity.”