Reverand Vasily Gelevan bends over a Covid-19 patient at her apartment to administer Holy Communion and say words of comfort while clad in a hazmat suit.
The bedside ministry is one of many such visits the 45-year old Russian Orthodox priest makes daily as he shuttles across Moscow in a minivan to tend to people fighting the coronavirus at their homes or in hospital rooms.
Gelevan’s family at first wasn’t happy with his decision to come in close contact with those infected with the virus, but the father of five sees pastoral care as a responsibility he can’t refuse, especially during a pandemic.
