Illinois Churches Hold Services Against Governor’s Coronavirus Order
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A number of churches in Illinois held in-person services on Sunday, against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 orders limiting worship services to 10 people, Fox News reported. Several churches have filed suit claiming the Governor’s coronavirus orders are unconstitutional.
Represented by Liberty Counsel in a federal lawsuit filed Friday, the Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church was one of the churches that held a service of more than 10 people on Sunday, Fox News reports. Elim senior pastor Cristian Ionescu immigrated to the US from communist Romania where, he said in a blog post on Monday, the constitution was a “piece of paper,” a “gimmick.” Encouraging faith leaders to stand up for their rights, Ionescu wrote in his post: “Here in the United States the Constitution still counts for something…let’s make it count, lest it will become just a piece of paper!”
Ionescu said that his church had acted responsibly on Sunday, Fox News reported. The church had hired a professional sanitization company to provide masks and the congregation was instructed to observe social distancing guidelines set by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Ionescu said the governor was giving congregations like his, which have some 1300 parishioners, a “death sentence.”
Under the Governor’s phased reopening plan, gatherings of more than 50 people will not be allowed until a “vaccine or highly effective treatment is widely available” or until there are no new coronavirus cases over a sustained period. Referring to the reopening in his blog post, Ionescu said: “They look to the medical professionals and economists for guidance on how to reopen the economy. It’s time to consult with us on how to reopen church public services, not sending down absurd decrees that show ignorance and indifference!”
On Tuesday, officials stated that Illinois had 4,014 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total to 83,021 including 3,601 deaths.
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