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By staff reporter
April 14, 2020 (Ezega.com) – Tens of millions of Ethiopian Orthodox and Catholic Christians do not attend special prayers and supplications during this “Passion Week” due to the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
The supplication and prayer led by archbishops or arch priests are carried out at the parish church level by a handful of deacons and priests, as well as by church scholars who are assigned weekly.
The Ethiopian government last week passed a decree directing religious institutions to provide spiritual services to few people to avoid large public gatherings and stifle the spread of the coronavirus.
In compliance with the government order, the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Churches of Tewahedo declared that the Divine Mass and other sacraments of the church, as well as the supplications and prayers by the clergy on duty in each church.
The Ethiopian Islamic Council also suspended prayers inside mosques that are temporarily closed for the five daily Islamic prayers, as well as weekly Friday prayers.
Ezega.com noted that the government order won the acceptance of the Muslim faithful, but some followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church refused to comply with such edicts.
Members of the police patrol some churches in Addis Ababa and sometimes deny that the faithful have access to the church grounds. Reports say there are more than 20,000 Tewahido Orthodox churches across the country.
It is unclear how the government will penalize parishioners holding meetings of more than four people and shaking hands in violation of the recently issued state of emergency.
Some television channels, both state and private, have issued appeals and prayers from selected churches.
Television stations have also been giving opportunities to other Christian denominations and religions, including Muslims, to broadcast their religious prayers and messages of the time.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health has reported eight new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) of the 447 samples analyzed in the last 24 hours.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 82.
Five of the confirmed cases are Ethiopian and the other three are Eritrean, Somali and British citizens.
The country reported three deaths from the virus, but discharged 14 patients with COVID-19.
In another development, the Amhara regional state in northern Ethiopia lifted the ban that imposed the movement of people in four cities in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.
The regional state imposed the blockade two weeks ago after three cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the cities of Bahir Dar, Addis Kidam, Tilili and Enjabara in the region.
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