The onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, which killed nearly two million people, has seen Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh worshipers seek solace in prayer.
Because places of worship are often closed and mass meetings are forbidden for fear of infections, believers turn to religious leaders or to heaven for answers.
On a sidewalk in Mexico City, Enriqueta Romero tends to a small shrine that honors Our Lady of the Holy Death. The small altar, surrounded by candles, plastic virgins and gloomy maggots, is one of the last prayer rooms in the city.
“There are a lot of people outside churches who ask God not to forget about us, and ask God to take away this disease,” Romero says. “There are many needs.”
“It’s thanks to her that I’m here,” says street vendor Gabriela Rangel, who seeks protection from the sanctuary. “She does not leave us unemployed, she is always here for us.”
Social distance, lock-in, and restrictions have a major impact on the way worshipers around the world practice their faith.
In the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak in Israel, praying to the synagogue three times a day was a part of community life. It is no longer allowed. “We try to improvise as much as possible,” says Rabbi Nechemia Bluestein (49).
” A new thing that has never existed before has emerged – people no longer visit each other (to comfort), but rather call or call for compassion, ” he adds. “People have to deal with their loss alone, and that’s very difficult.”
– ‘Can only be fate’ –
In the church of Saint Sava in Belgrade, Serbian Orthodox deacon Mladen Kovacevic believes that it is “easier for people who are deep in faith to … somehow find comfort and a little calm”.
“A priest can do much for his faithful ones,” he explains. Last year, the Serbian Orthodox Church lost both its patriarch Irinej and Amfilohije, its leader in Montenegro, to Covid-19.
Support and mutual help are what matters, says Gurpreet Singh Anand, president of The Central Gurdwara London, the oldest established Sikh place of worship in Europe.
“The role takes a lot of time to talk to people,” he says. “For them, you know, it’s an important thing to be able to visit the gurdwara.”
Pakawat Jityomnant, an antique dealer in Thailand whose father died of underlying conditions unrelated to Covid, held a shortened funeral to minimize the risk of his father’s elderly friends becoming infected. restrict.
“Maybe it’s just the destination,” he said. “Someone can live. Someone is dying. And we still do not know what the final situation is here about what is going to happen or how many people are going to die here.”
In Japan, Reikou Sasaki, a Buddhist priest at the Zojoji Temple in Tokyo, believes in acceptance. “It is the most important role of religion to help people maintain peace and tranquility when we are in this tragic situation,” he says.
On the banks of the river Ganges in India, Hindu pilgrims braved the virus to stream to the Kumbh Mela religious festival which regularly attracts millions.
“God will take care of the pandemic fears,” said Sanjay, who traveled from Delhi to take the sacred immersion in the river. “People do their duty and God does them.”
bur-ach / jm / har