Amid lockdown, UK churches to livestream Easter services online

Amid Coronavirus lockdown, churches and cathedrals across the UK will reportedly hold Easter services online. Adhering to the social distancing protocols, the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will lead the first national digital Easter Sunday service from his kitchen in his London apartment via an iPad. At least 1,500 worshippers from the Canterbury Cathedral are expected to join him online. 

According to reports, the event will also be streamed live on the Pope's own youtube channel and he will be joined by the Bishop of Dover, The Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin who will read the Gospel. They would also address the Coronavirus pandemic and hold a talk about the alternative methods the churches have opted amid lockdown to reach out to the congregations. Welby’s wife Caroline will reportedly read a lesson, and they will be joined online by 10-year-old Theodore Levings, a member of All Saints Church in Canterbury, who will lead prayers. All segments of the essential prayers would be filmed from back at home. 

Read: 22 J&K Prisoners Under PSA And Others Released Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Prince Charles' Easter Day reading

Meanwhile, Prince Charles, who had tested positive for Coronavirus, will reportedly read the Easter Day Gospel from St John chapter 20:1-18. Recorded at his home in Scotland's Birkhall, the service will be released on Church of England's website and Facebook page from 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Read: Coronavirus Ravages New Orleans' Mardi Gras Groups

Queen's special Easter message

Pope Francis was earlier quoted as saying that Easter ignited hope in the darkest hours despite the fears, referring to the Coronavirus crisis. He said while celebrating a late-night Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, “They, like us, had before their eyes the drama of suffering, of an unexpected tragedy that happened all too suddenly”. He performed some evocative ceremonies where worshippers entered the darkness with the candlelights, according to international media reports. 

In a first, British monarch Queen Elizabeth II had recorded a special Easter message for people of the United Kingdom who are struggling to overcome the hardships of lockdown amid the Coronavirus pandemic. In a heartfelt message, the 93-year-old monarch made her first-ever recorded public Easter address. 

Read: Georgia Coronavirus Cases Surpass 12,000

Read: Scientists Find Six New Coronavirus Strains In Bats