NUR-SULTAN (Reuters) – Kazakhstan’s Orthodox Christians should watch Easter services on television and order eggs and other festive foods by phone as churches remain closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, the country’s top clergyman said on Tuesday.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 19.
Kazakhstan has locked down all its provinces and banned mass gatherings in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The Central Asian nation, which has around 19 million people, has so far reported 1,179 confirmed cases including 14 deaths.
Speaking on state television, Metropolitan Alexander, Kazakhstan’s chief Orthodox cleric, said Easter services would be held behind closed doors at all churches and would be broadcast live on state television and provincial TV stations.
Many Western countries imposed similar restrictions last Sunday when Catholics and Protestants celebrated Easter.
Metropolitan Alexander said several monasteries and churches would provide blessed Easter bread, cottage cheese and painted eggs to believers who can order them by phone.
There are millions of Orthodox Christians in the former Soviet republic, mostly among ethnic Russians.
(Reporting by Tamara Vaal; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Gareth Jones)
