Friday Masses to Resume at Coptic Egyptian Churches in September

Friday masses will be reinstated at churches across the nation starting the 11th of September, the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church announced, according to Al Ahram.

The announcement comes after a six-month hiatus, during which most public services and ceremonies at religious establishments were suspended to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Church announced that all public health and safety measures and precautions will be observed at chapels and churches across the country and that attendance at Friday masses will be limited to protect congregants. According to Daily News Egypt, church-affiliated nurseries will also reopen in September, but will operate at 50 percent capacity.

Similarly, Friday prayers will also resume at all major mosques in Egypt starting the 28th of August.

Religious services and ceremonies were suspended at all houses of worship in Egypt earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, mosques have been holding daily prayers (with the exception of congregational Friday prayers) since June and churches were allowed to resume some services on the third of August.

The closure of houses of worship and the banning of religious congregation came as part of a number of preventive public health and safety measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Egypt recording its highest daily increases in coronavirus cases in the months of May, June and July.