Council of Churches urges authorities to ease quarantine for small temples

Council of Churches calls on the Cabinet of Ministers to ease quarantine for small temples. Photo: irs.in.ua

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations plans to meet with the Prime Minister Denis Shmygal to take into account the religious needs of citizens during the mitigation of the quarantine, reports the Institute of Religious Freedom.

According to the religious leaders, the Government’s decision on the introduction of adaptive quarantine, adopted on May 20, 2020, is a positive step. At the same time, its provisions do not take into account the possibility of worship in small temples and houses of worship.

As noted, despite the fact that the following stages of easing the quarantine include the opening of kindergartens (from May 25), public catering services with indoor visitors and the activities of cultural institutions (from June 10), restrictions on religious organizations remain.

For mass events in cultural institutions, the limit is one person per 5 sq. meters of floor space, while for religious organizations this requirement is twice as strict – no more than one person per 10 sq. meters.

“Such a disproportionate approach causes a lack of understanding of the actions of the government among many believers – especially those religious communities that have been conscientiously complying with quarantine requirements for more than two months, waiting for the opportunity to attend worship in a religious building (a church, a synagogue, a mosque, etc.),” says the letter of the AUCCRO to the Prime Minister. 

The Council of Churches believes that a sufficient measure to prevent crowding will be the presence of no more than 1 person per 5 sq. m. 

As reported by the SPJ, earlier the Council of Churches urged the Rada to finalize the draft Law "On Media".

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