Members of a church in eastern Assam’s Dibrugarh district could not attend the Easter prayer service on Sunday. They sent in their photographs instead.
Priests of the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church at the Bishop’s House in district headquarters Dibrugarh said photos sent by believers associated with the church were placed on the pews to mark their symbolic presence during a special Mass.
“Last week, the believers in the town were sad that they would not be able to come to church on Easter, but understood the necessity of remaining at home because of the COVID-19 lockdown. One of them came up with the idea of using representational photos,” Bishop Joseph Aind told The Hindu.
An e-mail was accordingly sent to some 400 Christian families in the town on April 10. Within three-four hours, they sent us family photographs that we downloaded and printed and pasted on the pews ahead of the Sunday Mass. Only three believers attended in person while abiding by the government’s guidelines,” the Bishop said.
“I am happy that the believers have performed their duties as citizens by staying and praying at home while being in the church virtually,” he added.
Churches in the Christian-majority States of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland conducted Sunday services through live-streaming. The Nagaland Baptist Church Council carried out the Easter Sunrise Service online.
