Serbia and North Macedonia, whose population is mainly Orthodox Christian, will spend Easter celebrations under the sign of a full curfew extended to more than 80 hours, in order to fight against the coronavirus.
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These two countries of the Balkans have already imposed for some time a night curfew of twelve hours, on weekends, from Friday to Monday morning. This ban on leaving the house, including shopping or going to the pharmacy, will be extended until Tuesday due to the Orthodox Easter holidays. These are the most severe measures put in place by Serbia and North Macedonia since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Serbian Orthodox Church had called for a lifting of the curfew on Sunday to allow the faithful to attend Easter Mass. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did not respond directly to church officials by announcing on Tuesday evening on state television (RTS) his decision to tighten the restrictions, which he prompted on the advice of doctors. " I will beg the patriarch on his knees to reconsider this request (...) but we are certainly not going to arrest priests, " he said.
In North Macedonia, the Orthodox Church has enjoined the faithful who wish to go to church before the curfew to respect the instructions of social distancing and not to kiss the icons. In these two countries, the ecclesiastical authorities encouraged the faithful to stay at home and to attend Masses broadcast via the Internet. Since the start of the epidemic, more than 4,800 people have contracted coronavirus in Serbia, 99 of whom have died. In North Macedonia, a thousand people have been infected, 45 of whom have lost their lives.
In Montenegro, where Orthodox Christians also constitute the majority of the approximately 650,000 inhabitants, the authorities, as of March 22, banned the presence of worshipers in churches during masses. An archbishop, Amfilohije, and several priests who had violated the ban with him were arrested on April 12. The prosecution must rule on their case.