[ad_1]
Subscribe to the epidemic newsletter
We send you what you need to know about the epidemic every day of the week. Sign up and take care of each other!
In several places the midnight mass on December 24 and the festive service on December 25 will be missed, in other places participation will be subject to registration and the number of believers in churches will be limited due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Tamás Tóth, secretary of the Hungarian Catholic Episcopal Conference (MKPK), told MTI: Lifting the curfew at Christmas provides the opportunity to celebrate midnight Masses, but they are not held in many places or only online.
There will be no midnight mass in Székesfehérvár, Debrecen and Pécs, for example, because so many believers in these great city cathedrals used to attend the ceremony that it would be impossible to follow epidemiological rules, he said.
Participation in the midnight mass, which is broadcast live on Danube Television, is subject to registration at Vác Cathedral.
In many places, so-called vigil Masses are held at night, and there will be ceremonies on the first and second days of Christmas, the MKPK secretary explained.
Tamás Tóth asked everyone to be informed about the ceremonies of the local parish.
He stressed that during the Christmas holiday, believers can choose between many Masses, and on the 25th and 26th various ceremonies are usually held in Catholic churches.
He asked those at risk, possibly feeling sick, to choose television broadcasts or some online ceremony.
Masks and distance from people who do not live in the same home are mandatory in churches, he said, adding that in recent months there has been an order to keep Masses safe, people understand and follow the rules.
The communication service of the Hungarian Reformed Church (MRE) said that local pastors decide whether to conduct the services, believers can ask them or find information about the order of ceremonies on the website of the congregations.
The MRE synod presidency asked congregations to worship only in those churches where they could meet the standards introduced due to the epidemic. Ceremonies can only be carried out in a disinfected and ventilated church, believers must wear a mask and keep a distance of four meters from each other. The presidency also suggested that believers be admitted to the church only by prior registration.
Congregations unable to provide a secure setting were asked to conduct worship services outdoors or online.
According to the Lutheran Information Service, the presidencies of the congregations also decided to hold services in the Lutheran Church. In Lutheran congregations on the 24th, the ceremony takes place in front of the church in various places, but there is also a community that is in the forest. On the first and second day of Christmas, many churches must register for worship, and an online ceremony is held elsewhere.
In several large cities, such as Győr or larger communities where safe participation in ceremonies cannot be guaranteed, churches will be closed during the holidays.
The Lutheran Church also asks believers to learn about the ordinances on the church’s website, the community page. (MTI)
[ad_2]
