Kyiv authorities call for Easter service "without mass gatherings"

Easter celebrations in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in 2019. Photo: UOC

The Kyiv City State Administration has called on the rectors of religious communities to "limit the holding of mass services", reports the deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration, Anna Starostenko.

She urged Kyiv residents "to prefer broadcasting of church services and to keep in mind the curfew in force from 00:00 to 05:00". Starostenko said that the city "has asked the leaders of religious communities to limit the holding of mass worship services and ensure online broadcasts from places of worship on Ukrainian TV channels and via the Internet as much as possible". The authorities note that "we must remain conscious citizens and act on the recommendations of the military, avoiding mass gatherings in order to keep each other safe".

Rectors of Kyiv churches tell the UOJ that they have received calls from authorities and have been urged to serve either in the morning or "with a limited number of parishioners". Why worshippers cannot pray inside the temple at night during the curfew was not explained by the City State Administration.

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that authorities in the Kyiv region banned worshippers from praying in churches at Easter.

Read also

Armenian bishop arrested for attempted coup plot

The opposition calls what is happening a political crackdown and an attempt by the authorities to weaken the protest and the influence of the Church in society.

In Kropyvnytskyi, children perform Russian chanson near OCU church

The local "bishop" of the OCU is disappointed.