Bishop Who Defied Lockdown to Hold Services Dies Of Coronavirus

He was in the news late last month when he showed off how packed his church was, having defied social distancing rule.

He also reportedly vowed to keep preaching “unless I’m in jail or hospital”, and asked church members to stand in the course of a service to prove how many were in church despite lock-down.

“I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus. You can quote me on that,” he said, repeating it a second time to claps, saying that “people are healed”.

Those were from Bishop Gerald O. Glenn, of the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church, in Richmond, USA, but news breaking from mailonone, indicate that the preacher has died of the coronavirus.

He had also said: “I am essential…I’m a preacher — I talk to God!”, but on Sunday, his church announced “with an exceedingly sorrowful and heavy heart” that the pastor had died a week after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

His wife, Marcietia Glenn, is also sick with the bug, with church members offering their prayers.

The report also adds that their daughter, Mar-Gerie Crawley, told a medium that her father initially dismissed his symptoms because he had a condition that often led to fevers and infections.

She is now urging everyone to stay home.

“I just beg people to understand the severity and the seriousness of this, because people are saying it’s not just about us, it’s about everyone around us.”