the world such as the church in wales, and the scottish episcopal church, suspended in-person worship amidst the pandemic. the archbishop of canterbury led a virtual eucharist that was broadcast on thirty-nine bbc stations. the church of ireland archbishop of dublin and bishop of glendalough of the united diocese of dublin and glendalough most reverend michael jackson has: a prayer in the time of the coronavirus. in time magazine, anglican theologian and university of oxford professor n. t. wright characterised the covid-19 pandemic as one that focuses on the christian theme of lamentation, in which both god and humanity mourn together: a priest wearing a mask matching her vestments preparing for eucharist outdoors at an episcopal church in minnesota the point of lament, woven thus into the fabric of the biblical tradition, is not just that it's an outlet for our frustration, sorrow, loneliness and sheer inability to understand what is happening or why. the mystery of the biblical story is that god also laments. some christians like to think of god as above all that, knowing everything, in charge of everything, calm and unaffected by the troubles in his world. that's not the picture we get in the bible. god was grieved to his heart, genesis declares, over the violent wickedness of his human creatures. he was devastated when his own bride, the people of israel, turned away from him. and when god came back to his people in person—the story of jesus is meaningless unless that's what it's about—he wept at the tomb of his friend. st. paul speaks of the holy spirit "groaning" within us, as we ourselves groan within the pain of the whole creation. the ancient doctrine of the trinity teaches us to recognize the one god in the tears of jesus and the anguish of the spirit. —n.t. wright, anglican bishop and university of oxford professor the cathedral of saint john the divine, which belongs to the protestant episcopal diocese of new york, has volunteered itself to be turned into a field hospital for coronavirus patients, which will be cared for by samaritan's purse health workers, who have offered their services. it will house over two hundred patients with the ailment. in the statement, the archbishop of canterbury, anglican consultative council chair and the anglican communion secretary general wrote a joint letter to the anglican communion. the letter states, "in our prayers, in addition to praying for those who are ill, and for those who are lonely, we should pray for wisdom for those in authority and for strength to be given to medical workers. we should do more than pray. we should also act by heeding the advice of our respective national and regional authorities who are working to contain the virus; and, we should care for those who are unable to care for themselves." the church of england released a statement on 5 may 2020 regarding guidelines for churches as nations around the world gradually re-open. the house of bishops mentioned the possibility of "very limited access to church buildings for activities such as streaming of services or private prayer by clergy in their own parishes, so long as the necessary hygiene and social distancing precautions are taken". according to official statistics, anglican churches in north america saw substantial attendance declines even after in-person services were resumed in 2021. average sunday attendance in the episcopal church "declined 35 percent from the already-depressed levels of 2020," falling to 312,691, 43 percent below the figures for 2019, the last full year prior to the pandemic. likewise, the anglican church in north america saw attendance in 2021 roughly 30 percent lower than prior to covid. while statistics for the anglican church of canada had not yet been released as of january 2023, bishop susan bell told the diocese of niagara synod in november 2022 that congregations in that diocese were seeing worshipers return at rates of 50–65 percent and that diocesan revenue was forecast to fall by 23 percent in 2023. the church's statistician said that the decline in acc membership (not attendance) accelerated from about 2.5 percent per year to 10 percent per year during the pandemic. methodism l. jonathan holston, bishop of the south carolina annual conference of the united methodist church recommended that churches "proceed with worship services — providing increased vigilance regarding cleaning worship areas, providing hand-washing stations, and educating members about social distancing and other preventive measures." on 13 march 2020, bishop elaine jw stanovsky of the pacific northwest annual conference of the united methodist church issued a statement that would be updated no later than the start of holy week, which directed "the local churches of any size and other ministries in the states of alaska, idaho, oregon and washington to suspend in-person worship and other gatherings of more than 10 people for the next two weeks". many parts of the methodist churches, which uphold sunday sabbatarian teaching, have transitioned their church services online; ninety percent of the parishes within the pacific northwest annual conference of the united methodist church, for example, are now offering worship via internet livestream. catholicism countries where there were suspensions of catholic masses with the presence of the people during the covid-19 pandemics, at regional level (in red) or national level (in burgundy). many churches have been ringing their church bells five times a day for the liturgy of the hours as a call to prayer amidst the coronavirus outbreak. in spain, many cities canceled their semana santa festivities (5–11 april)—normally large events with parades and significant tourism spending—by mid-march as a result of the pandemic; in seville, it was the first time that the events had been canceled since 1933. an american military chaplain prepares for a live-streamed service in an empty chapel at offutt air force base in march 2020 the vatican announced that holy week observances in rome, which occur during the last week of the christian penitential season of lent, have been canceled. with the diocese of rome closing its churches and chapels, saint peter's square is now empty of christian pilgrims; on the other hand the archdiocese of new york, though cancelling services, has left its churches open for prayer. setting an example for churches unable to celebrate public masses due to the lockdown, pope francis began livestreaming daily masses from his home at domus sanctae marthae on 9 march. in the archdiocese of portland in oregon, a different approach was briefly taken as archbishop alexander sample instructed parishes to offer more masses so that each mass would be more sparsely attended; however, tightening restrictions on public gatherings in oregon led to even archbishop sample suspending public masses beginning on 17 march. by 20 march 2020, every roman catholic diocese in the united states had suspended the public celebration of mass and dispensed with the obligation to attend sunday mass; the ukrainian greek catholic church in the united states also suspended public divine liturgies, as did the ruthenian greek catholic eparchy of passaic. the supreme tribunal of the apostolic penitentiary on 20 march 2020 granted plenary indulgences to various people affected by the coronavirus. additionally, those who cannot receive the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, especially those afflicted with the coronavirus, may receive a plenary indulgence by reciting prayers, especially the chaplet of the divine mercy, on their own, with the presence of a crucifix being recommended. with social distancing restricting public celebration of the sacraments, many churches began looking to innovate. some priests began offering drive-thru confessions. a parish in quezon city announced an online general absolution via live stream but cancelled the event upon discovering that the priest who absolves and the penitent people receiving absolution must be physically in the same place. similarly, the archdiocese of kansas city attempted to allow confessions to be heard via cell phone but ran into the same issue regarding absolution. archbishop leonard blair wrote in a memo to the u.s. bishops, "with regard to penance, it is clear that the sacrament is not to be celebrated via cell phone." the diocese of springfield in massachusetts attempted to allow nurses to anoint patients while priests recite prayers for extreme unction but this policy was quickly rescinded because anointing cannot be validly delegated. on the other hand, johann pock, the dean of the faculty of catholic theology at the university of vienna, wrote that if the pope could impart a "complete indulgence" to the world via television, "why then can't the bishop… celebrate the eucharist for his entire diocese, with believers in front of their screens actively participating and making this not just a spiritual, but an actual communion with bread (and wine) at the table?" jorge ortiga, archbishop of braga wearing a protective mask during pentecost mass in may 2020 by mid-march the maronite church in lebanon authorized the reception of the eucharist in the hand, a practice previously not permitted, to stem the spread of the virus. some parishes allowed for two lines of communicants: one for those who wished to receive traditionally on the tongue and those who wished to receive in the hand. this led to protests from traditional maronites, including an 8 march incident in an ajaltoun church where protesters shouted "we are the church" in response to a priest requesting obedience to church requests. as an outbreak began to accelerate in new orleans, on 24 march 2020 louisiana governor john bel edwards called for a day of prayer and fasting. bel edwards wrote that he and his wife "believe in the power of prayer and know, based on our catholic christian faith, that prayer coupled with fasting is pleasing to god." the day prior, the archdiocese of new orleans announced that archbishop gregory aymond had tested positive for covid-19 on 23 march. the 70-year-old archbishop stated that he had not been feeling well and was tested with his symptoms. he stated that he will continue to stream reflections on the crisis to facebook and the archdiocese's website. on 20 march 2020, pope francis announced the launch of the vatican covid-19 commission, that would work under the direction of the dicastery at the service of integral human development to think possibles solutions for the problems that the covid-19 pandemic would bring. on 27 march 2020, pope francis imparted the urbi et orbi blessing, normally reserved for christmas and easter, from an empty saint peter's square following a prayer for the health of all the world. for the prayer service, francis brought the crucifix from san marcello al corso which had processed through the streets of rome during the miraculous plague cure of 1522. catholic dioceses and religious institutes offered church facilities to accommodate healthcare operations and provide housing for the needy in the crisis and the holy see implemented measures to protect its high-risk residents who were more susceptible to developing complications from covid-19. in bergamo, the hardest hit city in italy where morgues ran out of space, bishop francesco beschi ordered the churches to be used as mortuaries, as "an act of tenderness towards people who die alone and bodies are likely to remain piled up." pope francis asked the church to welcome and provide refuge to the homeless amidst the pandemic, and on 6 april 2020, francis donated us$750,000 to mission countries for combatting the covid-19 pandemic. in reflecting on the coronavirus pandemic, bishop heiner wilmer of hildesheim stated that "the crisis is not a punishment from god" and recalled martin luther's question of accessing god directly, suggesting that the faithful turn their focus on the bible and house churches of early christianity. cardinal antónio marto, bishop of leiria-fátima called the view that the pandemic was god's punishment "unchristian", and further said that such views could only be justified through "ignorance, sectarian fanaticism, or madness". on 25 march, cardinal marto renewed the consecration of portugal and spain to the sacred heart of jesus and the immaculate heart of mary, and added the names of twenty-four other countries at the request of their respective episcopal conferences. markus blümel from the catholic social academy of austria appealed to catholic social teaching to advocate for a universal basic income on 3 april 2020 in response to the pandemic. in his easter message on 12 april 2020, pope francis echoed this call, writing "this may