News By Date
01.04.2016
30.03.2016
29.02.2016
11.01.2016
19.12.2015
16.11.2015
01.10.2015
25.09.2015
01.08.2015
01.07.2015
10.06.2015
23.05.2015
30.11.-0001
CNN: Georgia's Defiant Church to Host Easter Worshipers despite Lockdown
"This Easter will present a major risk for Georgia. If huge crowds turn out for Easter celebrations, in contravention of calls from leading public health officials, Georgia's record of success in fighting coronavirus could be in doubt," reads the article by CNN, published on April 18, written by Neil Hauer.
"At first glance, the Republic of Georgia has been a success story in the fight against the new coronavirus: the outbreak in the small Caucasus nation has remained limited, with just 370 official cases as of Friday morning.
"But Georgia now faces a serious test. Easter will be celebrated this Sunday on the Eastern Christian calendar, and the powerful Georgian Orthodox Church is planning major celebrations that public health officials say could prove deadly," reads the article.
The author of the article emphasizes that Georgian authorities moved early to respond to the coronavirus. The government closed schools on March 2, when the country had just three confirmed cases. Health experts have credited the swift response with containing the virus early through social distancing and other measures. On Friday, a five-day nationwide ban on private car travel went into effect.
"The Georgian Orthodox Church, however, has largely refused to heed the pleas of public health officials, who have urged people to stay home. Churches across Georgia have remained open and continued to hold ceremonies, a move that experts say could prove disastrous," the publication says.
The author further notes that last Sunday, thousands gathered in churches across the country to mark Palm Sunday on the Orthodox calendar. The services were an explicit breach of the lockdown decreed by authorities on March 30, which include a ban on gatherings of more than three people.
The tradition-bound church has so far refused to adapt communion rites to counter epidemiological concerns. Worshippers line up at the end of each service to receive the sacrament of communion from the same communal spoon, Reuters reported Thursday.
Church officials have been insistent that its traditional practices do no harm.
"It remains to be seen how parishioners will react to the limitations on the Easter service. A church spokesman said curfews would be respected by parishioners who will remain in church from 9 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday to avoid violating the Prime Minister's order, according to press reports.
"But without the Church's explicit support, any further attempts by the government to halt religious ceremonies unilaterally are unlikely to have much effect," the author of the article concludes.
Source: CNN
By Ana Dumbadze
Read the full article here
Image: Georgian Orthodox believers in masks arrive at Palm Sunday service in Tbilisi on April 12
18 April 2020 12:26