PESHAWAR: The local Christians celebrated the Pentecost festival with fervour as members of the community opened churches for first time after March 14 in the provincial metropolis on Sunday.

The members of the Christina community attended special services in the churches on the occasion. The main service was held at All Saints Church Kohati in Peshawar city where special prayers were offered for peace and prosperity in the country and end to Covid-19 pandemic. Bishop of Peshawar Humphrey Sarfraz peter led the prayers.

The churches were closed on March 14, 2020 as part of the lockdown to contain Covid-19 pandemic. “We continued our worship at our homes and our priests guided us online,” said members of the community.

Head priest of All Saints Church Shehzad Murad told Dawn that Pentecost festival was celebrated on the 50th day after Easter every year.

Special prayers held for peace and end to pandemic

“The holy day is also called ‘White Sunday’. Pentecost can also refer to the entire 50 days of Easter through Pentecost,” he added.

He said that about 55 people participated in the prayers and took part in releasing of pigeons, balloons and cake cutting ceremony.

Mr Murad said that Pentecost holiday (holy day) was generally honoured in liturgical churches. Pentecost was not as well-known or as popular as the Christmas and Easter, though it commemorated a watershed event in Christian history, he said. “In many ways, Pentecost is the birthday of the church,” he added.

The priest said that on that day the Christians community used to commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the early followers of Jesus.

“From a historical point of view, Pentecost is the day on which the church was started. This is also true from a spiritual perspective since the Spirit brings the church into existence and enlivens it. Thus, Pentecost is the church’s birthday,” he said.

About the special message conveyed to the Christians on the special day, Mr Murad said that members of the community were asked to avoid mixing up to protect themselves from the impact of covid-19 pandemic.

He said that the entire world was in the grip of coronavirus and followers of every belief should ensure following the standard operating procedure to avoid contracting the disease.

“We avoided opening our churches even when the lockdown was relaxed just to save our people,” he said. He said that opening of worship places did not mean that Covid-19 was controlled.

He added that Christians also celebrated Easter in a simple way to follow the government’s lockdown guidelines and remain safe.

The prayers were also offered at the churches in other parts of the provincial capital where workers of Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar carried out spray to disinfect the buildings.

The participants were also provided facemasks and sanitizers at the entry points of the worship places.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2020