Easter church services to take place behind closed doors

Church services to mark the Orthodox Easter will take place behind closed doors, Archbishop Chrysostomos assured President Nicos Anastasiades in a meeting held at the Presidential Palace on Thursday.

The Archbishop was fully briefed on the government’s latest measures in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus, expressing the Church’s willingness to contribute to efforts seeking to flatten the curve.

President Anastasiades and Archbishop Chrysostomos agreed that it would be left up to the Church to decide which churches will conduct services over the Orthodox Easter, while it was clarified that where services will take place, the faithful will not be allowed to observe them in person, and all relevant coronavirus measures will be followed.

The two also agreed that the Church was free to decide on whether it would repeat the Easter Sunday church service celebrating the resurrection of Christ at a later date, when the faithful would be allowed to observe the service in person.