First bishop of Russian Orthodox Church dies of coronavirus

Moscow, April 26, Interfax - Bishop Veniamin of Zheleznogorsk and Lgovsk died of coronavirus on Sunday, Patriarch Kirill-led working group said.

"Several days ago, Bishop Veniamin was hospitalized to the Kursk Semashko regional clinical infectious diseases hospital. Yesterday, the church hierarch was moved to the intensive care unit, he was diagnosed with double pneumonia, which was caused by the coronavirus infection," the statement said.

Bishop Veniamin became the first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church who died of Covid-19.