Romanian church leader calls mass gathering amid virus

Romanian church leaders organised a mass gathering for St Andrew's day on Monday as dozens gathered despite health risks during the pandemic. With quarantine in place, officials say only residents of the village where the St Andrew's church is located were allowed to attend.Orthodox Archbishop Teodosie spoke to the crowd from a stage near the cave where they believe St Andrew lived."You should respect the sanitary rules, I see you all have masks," he said.

However visitors were seen touching and kissing the relics, with many of attendees and clergy not wearing masks."I believe in people shaking hands, this should be kept as it is," said Florin Dobre, a 44-year-old visitor who came to worship.This year, coronavirus halted the feast of St Dimitrie of Basarabov, a weeklong festival that typically draws up to 100,000 people from all over the country to the capital every October.

Infection-control measures limited access to the festival to Bucharest residents.The feast was shortened to three days and drew less than a third of the usual number of worshipers.About 85% of Romania's more than 19 million people identify as Orthodox Christians, and the government measures have dramatically altered religious celebrations in 2020.

(Image Credit: AP)