The Orthodox Church in Serbia has appealed to the Belgrade government to ease the exceptionally tight restrictions it has imposed to curb the coronavirus epidemic, and allow believers to gather outside churches on Sunday for Orthodox Easter.
The Church, the main faith community in the Balkan country, called on the authorities to let believers leave their homes on Sunday between 5am and 10am to follow Easter liturgies outside churches, “so that Orthodox Christians who are not under isolation can take part in the morning liturgy on their holiest day”.
It comes after a leading bishop, Irinej of Novi Sad and Backa, said the Church would make sure believers kept “a sufficient distance” from one another if the government relaxed its tight controls just for that day.
Serbia has close ties to China and is following the tough methods imposed by the Beijing regime to stop the pandemic. Since April 10, it has imposed a tight weekend curfew, prohibiting any movement outside the home from Friday evening to Monday morning except for absolute health emergencies. Serbs may leave the home on weekdays to buy food up until 5pm.
The Serbian bishop’s Eastern appeal echoes similar appeals made in neighbouring Romania, where some senior clergy have asked the government to let believers gather “just for one hour” outside churches on Sunday and light candles, while keeping social distancing rules.
The Serbian government of President Aleksandar Vucic is not expected to heed the Church’s appeal for a relaxation of the rules. Although it has cultivated close ties to the Church in the past, further development of the alliance with China seems to be its current priority.
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