Coronavirus forces adjustments in Good Friday worship
Kirk McKoy
·5 min read
INDIA: Catholics offer Good Friday prayers at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Hyderabad. People around the world have begun celebrating Good Friday and Easter from the safety of their homes in an effort to help arrest the coronavirus outbreak. (Mahesh Kumar A / Associated Press)
LITHUANIA: Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and his wife Diana Nausediene, wearing protective gear, leave the Church of St. Theresa in Vilnius after private prayers on Friday. (Mindaugas Kulbis / Associated Press)
Expressions of faith in many religious services emphasize close contact: hand-holding, sharing Communion in Christian churches, touching or kissing religious objects at synagogues. These practices are now being avoided and replaced by social distancing as the religious rituals of hundreds of millions of people undergo profound changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many religious authorities are closing places of worship or have placed a limit on public gatherings. Easter, Passover and Ramadan, which occur within weeks of each other in April, will face major disruptions due to social distancing policies
Some houses of worship have embraced technological solutions, such as livestreaming services or offering drive-through confessions. . At the same time, many religious leaders have appealed to their followers to not only take safety precautions, but also to embrace their spirituality to help confront the health, social and economic challenges ahead.
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Here is a look at how the faithful come together, yet separately, in this time of pandemic.
AUSTRALIA: Archbishop Mark Coleridge delivers a Good Friday Mass to an empty St. Stephen's Cathedral in Brisbane. (Dan Peled / Associated Press)
INDIA: Catholics pray at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Good Friday in Hyderabad. (Mahesh Kumar A / Associated Press)
INDIA: Hyderabad Archbishop Tumma Bala, wearing a mask, and other priests distribute food to the poor on Good Friday in Hyderabad. (Mahesh Kumar A / Associated Press)
IRELAND: A worker sprays disinfectant in the area in front of a statue of the crucifixion of Jesus outside St. Mary of the Angels Church on Good Friday in Dublin. (Brian Lawless / Associated Press)
LITHUANIA: Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda and his wife Diana Nausediene, wearing protective gear, leave the Church of St. Theresa in Vilnius after private prayers on Friday. (Mindaugas Kulbis / Associated Press)
POLAND: Priests hear confessions from the faithful outdoors from a safe distance on Good Friday in Warsaw. (Czarek Sokolowski / Associated Press)
GERMANY: Father Frank Heidkamp talks to worshipers in their cars prior to a Good Friday service at a drive-in cinema in Duesseldorf. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press)
GERMANY: Worshipers take part in a Good Friday service held at a drive-in cinema in Duesseldorf. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press)
GERMANY: Mayor Thomas Geisel and his wife Vera step out of their car during a Good Friday service at a drive-in cinema in Duesseldorf. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press)
GERMANY: Cars fill a drive-in cinema for Good Friday services in Duesseldorf. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press)
ISRAEL: A Franciscan monk retraces the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City after the traditional Good Friday Mass procession was called off. (Sebastian Scheiner / Associated Press)
ISRAEL: Franciscan monks retrace the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City after the traditional Good Friday procession was called off amid coronavirus fears. (Sebastian Scheiner / Associated Press)
ISRAEL: A Jewish man wears a face mask as he reads from a Torah scroll at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on April 10, 2020. (Sebastian Scheiner / Associated Press)
ISRAEL: Wearing protective masks and gloves, Jewish men pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on April 10, 2020. (Sebastian Scheiner / Associated Press)
ISRAEL: A Christian woman stands at the closed door of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem on Good Friday. (Sebastian Scheiner / Associated Press)
SPAIN: A priest walks in an empty Santa Maria Cathedral in Pamplona, where Good Friday services were canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Alvaro Barrientos / Associated Press)
BELGIUM: An intimate Good Friday Mass is held at the Notre-Dame de l'Alliance Benedictine monastery in Rixensart. (Benoit Doppagne / AFP/Getty Images)
PHILIPPINES: Catholics pray in the street outside a closed church in Manila. (Ezra Acayan / Getty Images)
PHILIPPINES: Catholics pray in the street outside a closed church in Manila. (Ezra Acayan / Getty Images)
PHILIPPINES: Catholics pray in the street outside a closed church in Manila. (Ezra Acayan / Getty Images)
INDIA: Christians pray Friday in front of the closed door of the Mother House, the head office of the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa (now Saint Teresa), in Kolkata. (Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP/Getty Images)
INDIA: Archbishop of Kolkata Thomas D'Souza leads a special open-air Mass to celebrate Good Friday. (Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP/Getty Images)
THAILAND: Holy water is replaced by hand sanitizer at the entrance of the Holy Redeemer Church in Bangkok. (Romeo Gacad / AFP/Getty Images)
ISRAEL: A pilgrim wearing protective gear prays at the first station of the cross while making his way alone along the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday in Jerusalem. (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images)
MEXICO: A worshiper helps carry a depiction of Christ on the cross during an April 3 procession in Monterrey. (Medios y Media / Getty Images)
ENGLAND: The Rev. Andrew Nunn of the Anglican Southwark Cathedral delivers a Good Friday morning prayer via a live video stream in London. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)
AUSTRALIA: Father Bernie Thomas's message is livestreamed by Oscar Aguilera during a Good Friday service at Mary Immaculate Church in Waverley, Australia. (Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images)
AUSTRALIA: Father Bernie Thomas, left, and Oscar Aguilera assemble photos of member of their congregation that will take their places for Good Friday services at the empty Mary Immaculate Church in Waverley. (Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images)
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