Coronavirus: Orthodox churches stand empty over Easter

Congregations tuned in for TV or online services on the most important holy day in the Orthodox calendar

Orthodox priests held Easter services in empty churches on Saturday as parishioners watched on TV or live-streamed the sermons online. Dressed in the ornate robes that mark Orthodoxy’s most important holy day, priests in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv preached to congregations under lockdown in their homes to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Over Easter weekend, followers of Eastern Orthodoxy, who observe the Gregorian calendar, would usually be holding feasts, visiting relatives and attending church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. But coronavirus lockdowns have prevented many faiths from practising cherished religious traditions, including the world's   300 million Orthodox Christians.

Across Ukraine, police were deployed outside hundreds of churches to ensure that people standing outside services observed social distancing regulations, which ban gathering in large groups.

A small exception was made at the Pechersk monastery in Kyiv, where police allowed worshipers to enter the church one at a time, with the next person going inside when another left. About 100 people stood outside the monastery waiting to be let in.

The church’s leader drew criticism after suggesting that worshipers could gather outside while services were conducted rather than staying at home.

A girl decorates eggs on Holy Saturday, as Christians worldwide following the Western Gregorian calendar mark the Easter holiday weekend, in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. AFP

People pray during an Easter mass led by Bishop Krikor Kousa at the Armenian Catholic Church as Egypt ramps up efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt. REUTERS

Easter mass at the Armenian Catholic Church as Egypt ramps up efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt. REUTERS

A Christian worshipper prays in front of the closed door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre before the start of the Easter Sunday service amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem's Old City. All cultural sites in the Holy Land are shuttered, regardless of their religious affiliation, as authorities seek to forestall the spread of the deadly respiratory disease. Christians will be prevented from congregating for the Easter service, whether this coming Sunday -- as in the case of Bitar and fellow Catholics -- or a week later on April 19 in the case of the Orthodox. AFP

The Saint Maron Church doors remain closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, as Easter Sunday Mass is held indoors without worshippers and broadcast live, in the Gemmayze district of the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP

A Lebanese woman wearing a protective mask amid the COVID-19 pandemic takes part in Palm Sunday celebrations for Orthodox Christians at a church in the Ashrafiyeh district of the capital Beirut. AFP

Lebanese people, some wearing protective masks amid the COVID-10 pandemic, take pictures of a car procession celebrating Palm sunday for Orthodox Christians, in the Ashrafiyeh negihborhood of the capital Beirut. AFP

A woman prepares palm leave products as Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrate Palm Sunday, at Ghamra district in Cairo, Egypt. EPA

Bishop Krikor Kousa leads the Easter Sunday Mass behind closed doors as Egypt ramps up efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate and the Church of the Assumption in Cairo, Egypt. REUTERS

But in Bulgaria, Christians flocked to the Orthodox temples for outdoor services on a surreal Saturday night with the Balkan state one of the few countries where churches remained open over the Easter holidays amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While most worshippers maintained social distancing between each other to stem transmission of the virus, clergymen largely failed to observe it during the services.

The decision to keep churches open has sparked an intense debate on social media in Bulgaria. Many fear churches could become centres of contagion and pose risks to the most vulnerable – the elderly – jeopardising the collective effort to contain the disease.

In Georgia, some churches were open to those worshipers willing to arrive before the beginning of the country’s 9 pm curfew and remain there until the curfew lifts at 6 am. About 100 people showed up to do that the Holy Trinity Cathedral in the capital Tbilisi, where marks were placed on the floor so that people would observe distancing.

All churches in greater Moscow, St. Petersburg and many Russian regions have been closed since Monday, although some churches in remote regions were expected to have services with parishioners attending.

Russian Orthodox leader Patriarch Kirill led the church’s main service at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral. In an Easter epistle, he called on his flock not to be discouraged by being unable to attend services.

“We Orthodox Christians should not lose heart or despair in these difficult circumstances, let alone panic. We are called upon to preserve the inner world,” he said.

In Cyprus, many Orthodox faithful stood on their balconies or front porches with lighted candles as clergymen officiating midnight Easter Service in empty churches chanted “Christ is Risen.” Cypriots observed Easter services from their televisions at home following a government-imposed ban on worshippers attending church services that’s part of a strict stay-at-home order.