JERUSALEM, Thursday, March 26, 2020 (WAFA) – The churches administering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem Thursday announced that it would significantly decrease the number of the faithful attending the services at the church.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Custody of the Holy Land of the Franciscans and the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced that there would be a significant decrease in the numbers of the faithful attending the services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which encompasses the site of Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection, as a safety precaution against COVID-19 virus.

“Following the evolvement of the situation in the Holy Land, we the Heads of the Three Communities to whom the Providence granted the grace and honour of proclaiming the lodes of the Lord in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre and Resurrection, wish to inform that the celebrations of the Communities, the Greek Orthodox, the Latin and the Armenian will continue regularly, even though for safety reasons and in order to avoid the risk of the diffusion of the COVID-19 infection, the number of participants in the celebrations will be ed to few persons and the Basilica will be accessible during the liturgies only,” the statement read.

This came a day after the hierarchs of Jerusalem churches decided to close down the church for one week as of yesterday evening as a precautionary measure against the spread of the virus.

K.F.