The outbreak of coronavirus has obviously upset many events and celebrations throughout the world. Ever since the first announcement of the virus transmission in Ethiopia too, it has caused a lot of chaos and havoc in the society.
One of the most visible impacts it has caused is notable in the celebration of Easter. The colorful pre-event activities were being made in an unusual manner clouded by dark mood.
Despite that, religious institutions and media are doing a commendable work so as to restore the mood and make up the missing rituals.
Throughout the week, the media have been broadcasting prayers and religious teachings from the various denominations of Churches. Previously, the media were limited in their coverage of religious preaches due to the national policy of secularism.
But considering the urgency and sensitivity of the pandemic they have compromised their strict stance for the safety and benefit of the general public.
This has contributed in making the people respect the order of the government stay at home and limit the chance of the virus spreading.
During Lent, the Orthodox Christians used to spend most of the time in and around Churches to pray. Since Lent is a nearly two-months fasting period, the faithful used to crowd in and around Churches for mass prayers. Of course, that was mainly due to the long ingrained culture of religious reverence among Ethiopians.
Thus, under normal circumstances, absence from Church during Lent is considered by the faithful as a big spiritual offence or a sin. So, as the faithful remained at home in line with the State of Emergency declared in the country, they would certainly have mental regret.
Under such situation, the joint action taken by the media and Churches to let the believers attend the sermons at home through live transmission is highly commendable. This cannot be seen just from religious angle; it is also from containing the spread of COVID-19.
Actually there are still more actions to be taken in keeping more people to stay at home as much as they can so as to contain the alarming spread of the virus. Yet, the success achieved so far is encouraging and should be further upheld.
As it is well known the efforts to overcome the impact of the virus would need the continued efforts of the government, people and other stakeholders.
In this regard they have to further teach the people help each other in sharing information, resources and other burden of the pandemic. Churches along with other religious institutions should continue to motivate, educate and comfort the public while the media should continue to work strongly to bridge the possible gap that could exist due to the unprecedented situation among the public.
The Ethiopian Herald April 18 /2020
