This Good Friday, people pray outside closed church doors due to Coronavirus lockdown

• Coronavirus pandemic forces churches across India to remain shut on Good Friday.
• Yet, individuals were seen paying their respects from outside closed doors across the country.
• Priests urged their parishioners to stay at home and pray in view of the ongoing lockdown.

The Coronavirus pandemic has forced churches across India to remain closed on Good Friday as public gatherings are in violation of the nationwide lockdown. However, people are still coming out to pay their respects outside closed doors in commemoration of Jesus Christs’ crucifixion and his death at Calvary.


In India, Christianity is the third-large religion after Hinduism and Islam with approximately 28 million followers, as per the 2011 Census. Good Friday is a nationwide public holiday when many Christians attend special church services.

In Andhra Pradesh, individuals were seen paying their respects from outside St. Anthony’s Church in Visakhapatnam today morning, April 10.


Devotees were also seen praying in front of the Trinity Lutheran Church at Jagadamba Junction in Visakhapatnam.


Even in Karnataka’s capital city, Bengaluru, followers were seen praying outside a church in Neelasandra.


In Chennai, a priest was spotted giving a sermon in a deserted church on Good Friday. However, in some parts of the city people have been allowed to come to Church but are discouraged from kissing the Cross. They have also been advised to say Namaste instead of shaking hands as a sign of peace.


Another priest embraced social media to broadcast mass on live video using Youtube in order to enforce social distance during the lockdown at the Methodist Church in Bhandup in Mumbai on Good Friday.


Last week, in Aurangabad, the traditional procession that normally takes place a week before Easter Sunday was called off due to the lockdown. Spiritual leaders appealed locals to stay at home and pray to enforce social distancing.


A similar scene was observed outside the Cathedral in Melapudur in Trichy which lay deserted on Palm Sunday. Normally, it hosts a large gathering in commemoration.


At the Jeevamatha Church in Mattancherry in Kerala’s Kochi district, priests offer mass by placing palm leaves — one on every chair — to represent each of the households, which are a part of its parish.


At the Saint Francis Assisi Cathedral in Kochi, archbishop Joseph Kalathiparampi also offered prayers — but without the participation of its members.


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