Denmark planning to reopen churches for Easter Sunday
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 1 Apr, 2020 CET.
Updated: Wed 1 Apr 2020 19:00 CET
Denmark's government is planning to open the way for limited church services over Easter, so that Christians can celebrate the resurrection, even during the coronavirus lockdown.
If services go ahead, it will mark the first relaxation of the country's lockdown since it was imposed on March 11.
"Easter is the most important celebration of the church year," Denmark's church minister Joy Mogensen said in a press release. "This is especially the case during a sombre time when the Danes are looking for community and meaning, which is why the government is now working on a solution so that we can celebrate Easter in church in a responsible way."
Churches and church halls have been closed in Denmark since March 11, along with mosques, synagogues and other places of worship.
But with the country set to begin gradually lifting its coronavirus restrictions after Easter, the leadership of the Church of Denmark is now holding discussions with the Danish Health Authority and the Church Ministry on how to safely allow services to proceed on Easter Sunday.
The government gave no details on what a responsible church service might entail, or whether it would be possible for churchgoers to pray and sing together in church or to receive communion.
In the National Church of Denmark, communion typically involves a long queue to go the alter where all who are receiving the sacrament drink sips of wine from the same cup.
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If services go ahead, it will mark the first relaxation of the country's lockdown since it was imposed on March 11.
"Easter is the most important celebration of the church year," Denmark's church minister Joy Mogensen said in a press release. "This is especially the case during a sombre time when the Danes are looking for community and meaning, which is why the government is now working on a solution so that we can celebrate Easter in church in a responsible way."
Churches and church halls have been closed in Denmark since March 11, along with mosques, synagogues and other places of worship.
But with the country set to begin gradually lifting its coronavirus restrictions after Easter, the leadership of the Church of Denmark is now holding discussions with the Danish Health Authority and the Church Ministry on how to safely allow services to proceed on Easter Sunday.
The government gave no details on what a responsible church service might entail, or whether it would be possible for churchgoers to pray and sing together in church or to receive communion.
In the National Church of Denmark, communion typically involves a long queue to go the alter where all who are receiving the sacrament drink sips of wine from the same cup.
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