The Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church in Albany Park, Chicago, defied the stay-at-home order issued by the Illinois governor amid the COVID-19 pandemic and opened its doors for dozens of worshippers on Sunday, Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Elim Romanian’s senior pastor Cristian Ionescu told his flock the move to hold services was “not a rebellion for the sake of rebellion.” He claimed the Constitution granted them the right to worship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Romanian church also sued governor J.B. Pritzker in federal court over his Restore Illinois plan, which will allow supermarkets and businesses to reopen but will not allow gatherings of more than 50 people - such as a large church service. Churches in Illinois are currently not allowed to hold gatherings with more than 10 people.

“We feel that we are discriminated against,” Ionescu told the Sun-Times. He noted that large groups of people were already allowed to shop at grocery and hardware stores. “We follow the same rules as other places that are also considered essential, and yet we cannot have more than 10 people in a service, which is ridiculous.”

Ionescu, whose congregation has about 900 members, argued that churches are as essential as grocery stores or hardware stores. “We don’t offer food for body but offer food for soul, which is just as vital, and tools to build the house of God,” he said, according to BlockClubChicago.org. “And we’re not asking for any special treatments or preference. We want the same restrictions in place that Home Deport or Walmart has right now.”

The Romanian pastor said he had his church sanitized before Sunday’s services and had everyone’s temperature checked at the entrance. He also provided his congregants with masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, and put caution tape on the pews to ensure social distancing.

The local authorities in Chicago did not try to stop worshippers from congregating.

“We’re not gonna send in the police to arrest parishioners. People are exercising their faith, and I understand that,” Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Monday, according to Chicago Sun-Times.

“Our plan has always been to educate people into compliance. If we can do that, we will do that. We don’t want to take more aggressive measures unless we’re forced to do that because people are defying it,” the mayor said, adding that she had a “very pleasant conversation” with pastor Cristian Ionescu on Monday.

Six Romanian churches rise against governor’s rules

On May 3, six Romanian-American churches in Chicago sent an open letter on Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, saying that they would no longer “obey his unconstitutional edicts that discriminate against their churches,” according to Romanian-American publication Tribuna.us. They also said they would reopen their churches on May 10. The six congregations comprise of about 2,700 congregants.

“The Romanian-Americans in our congregations have chosen Chicago as their homeland, many of them after fleeing communist oppression that targeted religious gatherings, houses of worship and communal exercise of their religion and faith,” reads the open letter the six churches sent to the Illinois governor.

“We love our adopted country, and the freedom we have found here, too much to stay silent as you trample on our God-given rights. In light of our shared experience living behind the Iron Curtain – where discriminatory treatment of Churches by authoritarian governments was the norm – we are determined to do everything that we can to ensure that our beloved country and our state remain the beacons of freedom that brought us here,” the letter continues.

The representatives of the six Romanian churches criticized the governor for closing churches while allowing supermarkets, liquor stores, hardware stores, abortion clinics and a host of other businesses deemed “essential” to operate without limitations. “You have singled out churches as not essential, and you have closed our doors even though we are willing and able to implement the same safety measures employed by those that remain open. This is a flagrant violation of the United States Constitution, and the liberties we have risked our lives to be able to enjoy in this once-free Nation,” they wrote in their open letter.

Churches in Romania closed during COVID-19 lockdown

In Romania, the restrictions imposed by the authorities to limit the spreading of the COVID-19 virus have been much harsher than in the US. Under the state of emergency, decreed on March 16, all public gatherings have been banned. Churches in Romania have been closed during this period, even on Easter.

Churches in Romania will reopen after May 15, when the state of emergency ends in the country. Still, the first church services will take place outdoors and worshipers will have to wear masks and maintain a distance of at least 1.5 meters from each other, president Klaus Iohannis announced on Tuesday, May 12.

Moreover, the authorities have drafted a set of rules that churches will have to follow in the next period, according to Stirileprotv.ro. Access inside the churches will be limited to provide an area of 8 sqm for each person inside. Everyone will have to wear mask and disinfect their hands with alcohol sanitizer at the entrance. Touching or kissing sacred objects such as icons should be avoided and blessing will be offered/received from a distance of at least one meter. The Holy Eucharist should be provided with disposable spoons, according to the rules drafted by the National Public Health Institute.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: prin screen from video on the Elim Romania Pentecostal Church website)