The Syriac Church in Qamishli holds a Divine Liturgy without worshippers on the occasion of the Annunciation

Qamishli – North-Press Agency
Reem Chamoun – Charbel Henno

On Wednesday, the Syriac Orthodox Church in Qamishli, in northeastern Syria, held a Divine Liturgy service on the occasion of the Annunciation Feast (the Gospel of the Virgin Mary) and the resurrection. The feast was attended by a number of the servants of the Church, in implementation of the decisions of the Antioch Patriarchate of the Syriacs and the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese of al-Jazira and the Euphrates regions, without the presence of worshippers for fear of the coronavirus pandemic.

The deacon in the Church of the Virgin Mary in Qamishli city, who preferred not to be named, told North-Press that the mass was held in the presence of the priest and a limited number of deacons only, with the absence of worshippers. The doors of the churches were closed to prevent potential gatherings, in order to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Divine Liturgy was broadcast on the church's social media, according to the deacon.

He added that on the feast of the Annunciation, they distribute wafers and March Bracelets (two colored threads wrapped around each other placed on the wrist or neck, the white symbolizing divinity and the red symbolizing the human being, to denote the Orthodox doctrine which stands for the unity of the human and the divine), but today the Church has been unable to distribute the wafers in order to avoid gatherings.

The Syrian Orthodox Church had issued several decisions, including canceling all church meetings and celebrations, stopping prayers and liturgy in the churches, and limiting funerals to the parish priests and the deceased parents to prevent the threat of coronavirus.