You're reading: BBC: Orthodox Easter weekend marked under lockdown

BBC: Orthodox Easter weekend marked under lockdown

By BBC.

Published April 19, 2020. Updated April 23 at 11:19 am

Police guard the gates of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery, closed for quarantine over the spread of COVID-19 on April 13, 2020. Before it saw the outbreak of the coronavirus, the monastery was going to hold an Easter Vigil on April 19, when Eastern Christians celebrate Easter.

Photo by Oleg Petrasiuk

The world’s Orthodox Christians are celebrating Easter – the most important festival in their calendar, amid a series of restrictions and bans. Officials in Eastern Europe and the Middle East urged people not to attend services, fearing this would lead to a spike in coronavirus infections.