A pastor from Richmond, Virginia, has died on Easter Weekend from Coronavirus complications after proclaiming ‘god is larger than this dreaded virus.’

Bishop Gerald Glenn, the founder and Pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church, passed away on Saturday, April 11, a statement from the Church confirmed. His mother Marcietia Glenn has also tested positive for the virus.

‘It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved Bishop Gerald O. Glenn, the Founder and Pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church on Saturday, April 11. at 9:00 p.m,’ the Church said. 

‘Please be in prayer with us for Mother Marcietia Glenn, our first family and the NDEC church family. We ask that you respectfully allow our First Family to grieve in their own way.’

According to Glenn’s daughter, Mar-Gerie Crawley, he suffered from diverticulitis, a gastrointestinal disease that causes inflammation of the intestines, so it was not unusual for him to experience high fevers.

However, last Sunday he began struggling to breathe and so was admitted to a hospital.

After being put on a ventilator his breathing improved, but he tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after.

‘They did the COVID-19 test on him and we got it back that day and it was positive,’ Crawley said.

Bishop Glenn’s services were aired live on television, and just a few weeks before he was admitted to hospital, he told a congregation in a sermon on 22 March: ‘I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus.’

The day after the sermon, Virginia banned gatherings of 10 people or more, but officials had already begun encouraging people to practice social distancing before that point.

‘It becomes very real to you,’ Crawley said, who is now spreading the message that everyone should follow social distancing rules. ‘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.’