1. Africa is not immune

Certainty came on the eve of Holy Week. Covid 19 has not forgotten sub-Saharan Africa. For some time, it had been hoped for. Some continental peculiarities, such as climatic characteristics, the young age of the population, the presence of antibodies generated by other pandemics, had authorized optimistic forecasts. Instead, even without presenting itself with the exponential growth rates experienced in the northern hemisphere, the virus has crept in and began to claim victims in all countries south of the Sahara^[1]. At the moment, those reporting the highest number of infections are South Africa (5,647), Ghana (2,074), Nigeria (1,932), Cameroon (1,832), Guinea (1,495), Ivory Coast (1,275), Djibouti (1,089). They are the only countries to have crossed the threshold of a thousand cases, an event which, considering the whole continent, occurred in ten states: Egypt (5,537), Morocco (4,423), Algeria (4,006)^[2]. The real representativeness of these figures is necessarily conditioned by the costs necessary to carry out the tests to detect positivity. Apart from the numbers, it is nevertheless interesting to observe the attitude of the religious communities, which in Africa are distinguished by the plurality of religious affiliations and the high participation of the population in the moments of worship, although a clear process of secularization and disillusionment is rapidly changing the behaviour of African women and men, in the context of increasing urbanization^[3].

The containment measures adopted by governments have not been uniform. They range from the extreme lockdown decided by South Africa, which has classified the measures into five levels – the fifth, the most restrictive is now in force -, to the almost normalcy of Burundi, which “is an exception among nations because it is a country that has put God first, a God who scrutinizes him and protects him from any discomfort”, as the spokesman for the Presidency of the Republic explained in an interview with the BBC. It is to be hoped that this celestial privilege – In truth, not very observable in the recent history of the country – will last, and protect the population that in these days is gathering in the electoral rallies convened for the May 20^th presidential election. But countries – Tanzania and Benin are among them – that trust in the possibility of maintaining normalcy are in the minority. Most governments, even in the face of a small number of contagions, have opted for rather sharp limitation measures, although not always extended to the entire territory of the state. In Ivory Coast the capital Abidjan has been “closed” on entry and exit; in Kinshasa the “red zone” has been applied to the Gombé district, that of business, ministries and embassies. The common feature of the measures adopted is the ban on gathering, with a limit set at 20, 50 or 100 people. Where it is in force, it necessarily involves, whether there is an explicit ban or not, worship activities. In addition to this measure, in many cases, given the difficulty or impossibility of practicing the lockdown – on which I will return later – the curfew measure has been adopted from Tunisia to South Africa, from Nigeria to Kenya. Movements are allowed for a few hours a day, and at the time of closing, the army and the public order forces are authorized to intervene to enforce the ordinances, which has already provoked cases of shooting with victims among the population (in Nigeria, on April 17, eighteen deaths, against twelve caused by the virus)^[4].

The analysis of the declarations, documents and directives issued by bishops, episcopal conferences, councils and coordination committees of the Churches, imams and ulema, shows, in general, an attitude of collaboration, adherence and support to government directives, often supported from practical indications that interpret them in a restrictive and prudential sense. The catholic episcopal conferences, for example, have opted, almost without any exception, for celebrations in absence of the faithful, without taking advantage of the non-explicit suppression of the right of assembly within the limits of established participants. Therefore, even where it would have been possible to celebrate a mass with a predetermined number of faithful, it was decided to avoid.

The majority of African Christians therefore participated in the most important rites of the year – those of Holy Week and Easter – remotely, via radio, television and social media. For the first time in history, an Easter on air, or via cable. A revolution? Not entirely. Indeed, it should be remembered that in recent years religious subjects have made extensive use of the means of communication, acquiring channels and radio and television broadcasters. The trend has certainly grown with the advent of “neo-Pentecostal” groups, which has pushed other confessions to adapt.

3. A Easter and a Ramadan video-transmitted

“We asked the faithful to emphasize personal and family prayer. Since the celebrations will be held without the participation of the people of God, we asked the priests to be more creative at the pastoral level to offer reflections, homilies and exhortations to the faithful through social networks. We must also take this opportunity to live solidarity better in a concrete way. It is not a question of visiting people, but of approaching them in various ways: through calls, messages on networks, etc. We must also help those who have difficulty living in containment to find ways to do it. A large part of our populations live in a precarious situation and will not be able to support containment measures. It’s up to us to help them”^[5].

So said the archbishop of Lomé, capital of Togo, Barrigah-Benissan. The secretary general of the episcopal conference and member of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, p. Frederick Chiromba, has announced the suspension sine die of the cults of all religious denominations, specifying that “believers will be able to attend all the functions of Holy Week through live streaming on the web”^[6]. In Cameroon, by decision of the bishops, the masses will be held only in the main parishes, while in the mission churches they will be suspended. “Fortunately”, said Msgr. Esua, bishop emeritus of Bamenda, “we have Catholic radio and TV stations that will broadcast the entire function. Our people have been warned and invited to stay at home as much as possible”^[7]. In Guinea Bissau, Catholic radio is the most listened station, despite the fact that in the country Christian faithful are around 10% of the population. The director, an Italian PIME missionary, revolutionized the schedule by inserting programs for catechumens, prayers for the end of the pandemic, transmissions for Lent with the possibility of intervening and the Via Crucis.

Many South African parishes, according to the emeritus archbishop of Pretoria Slattery, are able to stream the functions via radio and TV. And so it happened, having the bishops decided that under no circumstances should the liturgical celebrations be public, “in full compliance with the guidelines of the government, which was very wise”. Also in Uganda, obligatory celebrations without people in all dioceses, and baptisms scheduled for Easter night have been postponed. Card. Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, presided over all Holy Week celebrations from the cathedral, broadcasted on Catholic radio and TV.

If Christians have experienced a Easter “of the heart” rather than a celebrated one, it is now up to the Muslim faithful to experience for the first time a new way of living the holiest month, that of Ramadan, located in this 2020 between April 23^rd and May 23^rd. On this occasion, Egyptian cities, including Cairo with its nearly 15 million inhabitants, used to enlighten themselves, with full of gatherings, parties and prayers all night long, until dawn. This year it won’t happen the same. The places of worship will remain closed, and the same will happen in mosques in all African countries where containment actions are in place. But in the Maghreb countries the authorities have introduced lightening measures. From April 30 in Algeria, from May 3 in Tunisia, where the head of government has declared that the situation is almost completely under control. The curfew has been postponed for two hours, from 18 to 20. If mosques remain closed, news show a certain indisposition to respect the rules of isolation and distancing in this month of celebration by the population. In the meantime, the more general debate about the opportuneness to respect fasting at the time of the pandemic is still open, given the consequences that abstention from solid and liquid nourishment causes on the body, weakening the ability to protect and react to the virus. At the moment, Al-Azhar has not yet pronounced a fatwa to exempt from ritual obligations.

3. For a sustainable lockdown

Authorities who chose to decisively deal with the health emergency had the Chinese and the European examples available. But are these models reproducible in sub-Saharan Africa? Is it possible to implement the lockdown in Africa? On the night of Thursday 26^th March this question rises dramatically in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kinshasa. A three-week period of confinement, total was to begin the following morning, proclaimed by the governor of the city-province Gentiny Ngobila. The announcement had provoked in the days leading up to a race to acquire food reserves. Prices had soared. But perhaps only half of the more than ten million inhabitants (the exact number cannot be calculated) participated in this competition for food. Most kinois, in fact, live in the moment. They buy food for the evening with the proceeds of the morning’s activities: obimi te okolia te (if you don’t go out, you don’t eat), says a saying Lingala. Immediately, civil society associations and political representatives of the ruling and opposition coalition called for the national government to revoke the measure, which came overnight. The closure has been postponed to a date to be set. A significant, if not decisive, influence on this decision is due to the intervention, both public and discreet, of Archbishop Ambongo, created cardinal in the last consistory and destined to collect a political legacy, as well as spiritual. Faced with dictatorships and embezzlement, with internal and international conflicts that have affected their country, Ambongo’s predecessors such as Malula and Monsengwo have embodied, willy-nilly, the role of the alternative, of denunciation, of the opposition. Ambongo vigorously asked the authorities to guarantee food and drinking water for the whole population through free distributions, without which the confinement would result in a death sentence for many. His appeal – as we have seen – was heard, and four weeks later, on April 22^nd, President of the Republic Felix Tshisekedi appointed the cardinal to head the coordination that will oversee the administrative structure of the Solidarity Fund to fight the virus, with a substantial budget. In the crisis, and in the storm of controversy triggered by the declaration of a state of emergency, Tshisekedi has not neglected to take care of relations with religious representatives. So the press described the meeting on April 20^th: “Les chefs des principales confessions religieuses du pays ont été reçus ce lundi par le président de la République, Félix Tshisekedi. La rencontre entre le chef de l’État et les leaders religieux a tourné notamment autour de la participation de l’église dans la lutte contre l’épidémie de coronavirus. Selon le cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, qui a conduit la délégation de ses pairs à la cité présidentielle de la N’sele, le chef de l’État a ‘estimé que c’était donc le moment ultime d’associer les confessions religieuses dans ce combat commun contre cet ennemi qu’est COVID19’. Malgré l’interdiction des cultes qui frappe les églises, Félix Tshisekedi a demandé aux confessions religieuses de continuer à intercéder pour le pays. Après échanges, les hommes d’églises ont promis qu’ils vont continuer à jouer leur rôle en tant que leaders d’opinions en sensibilisant les fidèles sur les risques réels du Covid-19”^[8].

4. “There are no more old men to kill here”

Religious leaders have therefore collaborated and aligned themselves with the choices of the authorities, aware of the worrying repercussions of the restrictive measures on the population, potentially worse than the contagion itself. The Africans, moreover, are well aware of the limits of the health systems of the countries in which they reside^[9], and seem to understand the need for “fasting of worship” to which they are forced. The concern and fear for the spread of the virus are indeed strong. In addition to physical suffering, those who exhibit symptoms must also face the stigma and distrust of neighbours: sources report about entire streets that are empty, with residents leaving home, to the news – real or presumed – of the occurrence of a case of positivity.

There is also, however, a phenomenon of opposite sign, in rapid development, and it will be interesting to observe which religious leaders will choose to be his spokespersons, in addition to the pastors who complain about the interruption of the payment of tithing and the drying up of their sources of livelihood^[10]. While fear spreads, in fact, a narrative of a different sign grows, strongly critical on the adoption of ‘western’ measures in a radically different context, and averse to the ‘prone’ acceptance by the authorities of measures taken elsewhere. The Ivorian writer Gauz^[11], from the columns of Jeune Afrique, expressed it with the usual sagacity. He wrote that Africa is closing and confining itself “like a mad dog in seeing its master afraid [….] With the significant exception of Benin, all its leaders repeat the speeches of European leaders to the letter”. It is the demographic difference, the different structure of the age pyramid that makes the African reality completely not comparable to the European one: “As of March 30, in France, the average age of the positives was 62.5 years, 84% of the deceased were over 70 years old […]. In France 20.3% of the population is over 65, in Ivory Coast 3 out of 100 […]. Life expectancy in Africa does not exceed 62 years, in Niger and Uganda the average age is 15 years. A fifty-year-old in Bouaké is a person miraculously cured”.

Not without controversy he concludes: “Coronavirus in the west is a very serious problem. Africa is not involved in the same way for the simple reason that, for sixty years, the neglect of its politicians, the greed of the financial systems, the nonsense of the structural adjustment plans, the ambitions of adventurers without faith or law they have already done the job: there are no more old men to kill on our continent”^[12].

In his bitter considerations Gauz does not note how in sub-Saharan Africa, like the rest of the world, the absolute number and percentage relevance of the elderly is constantly increasing. Even in Africa, their lives are at risk and with them that of health workers, even less protected and even more exposed than ours, and key to general sustainability. The African peoples have already paid, among all, the highest price for the pandemic from HIV-AIDS, to Ebola, and continue to be weakened by malaria, in its various forms, suffering among other things from the lower right of access to treatment compared to the other. Preserving them from contagion, and treating them and vaccinating them when possible, is in everyone’s interest.

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* Associate Professor of Contemporary History, University of Foggia.

[1] Lesotho and the Comoros are still exceptions.

[2] Data from European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ecdc.europa.eu), last update May 1, 2020.

[3] See E. Messi Metogo, Dieu peut-il mourir en Afrique?, Karthala, Paris 2013; V.S. Naipaul, La maschera dell’Africa, Adelphi, Milano 2010².

[4] I get this data from the following sources: the magazine Jeune Afrique; broadcasters Radio France International, Bbc, Radio Okapi; press agencies NAN (News Agency of Nigeria, government), SANews (South African Government News Agency); websites fides.org, africanews.com, nigrizia.it; African bishop conferences webpages.

[5] Statement issued to www.omnisterra.fides.org.

[6] Catholich Church in Zimbabwe to live stream Mass, in thezimbabwemail.com, March 21, 2020.

[7] Statement issued to www.omnisterra.fides.org.

[8] http://www.cas-info.ca

[9] According to Jeune Afrique, compared to the thousand care places available in South Africa, there are only 15 in Burkina Faso and Somalia, less than one hundred in many other countries. There would be just 3 respirators in the Central African Republic, 4 in Togo, 5 in Niger, 10 in Congo Brazzaville, 11 in Burkina Faso, between 15 and 20 in Cameroon.

^[10] See Afrique: la fermeture des églises provoque un débat sur le versement de la dîme, in evangeliques.info, 8 avril 2020.

^[11] Pen name of Armand Patrick Gbaka-Brédé, Gibert Joseph 2014 price of French booksellers with Debout-Payé,

^[12] Le coronavirus n’a plus de vieux à tuer sur ce continent, in Jeune Afrique, April 16, 2020, page Tribune. Gauz adds: “We understand well the tormented peoples of Europe and America. We are in solidarity, and we know that they will come out of it, they who have been able to think only of themselves for so long, of their material well-being, they who for centuries have walked the world building their precious lives on the negligence of those of the others. They will come out of it. They have the political, historical and cultural material to do it. We don’t live the same fight. Absolutely not. There are no older men to kill here. Poor virus!”.

The first case of COVID-19 Pandemic in the Republic of Turkey was detected on 10.03.2020 according to the official release of the Ministry of Health. The date of the first death due to the virus was 15.03.2020. The date of the preparation of this text is 25.04.2020. As of this date, the total number of cases of coronavirus is 107.773 while the total number of deaths is 2.706 according to the statements made by the Minister of Health, Fahrettin Koca. Another statistic is about the number of patients who have recovered. As of today, 25.582 patients have been discharged from hospitals.

Up to now, various measures have been taken by the Presidency and Ministries in Turkey to struggle the COVID-19 Pandemic. The first of these measures was the establishment of a scientific board within the Ministry of Health in 10.01.2020. The Scientific Board has been acting as an advisory board presenting the required measures to be taken to the authorized institutions. The recommendations of the Scientific Board have been largely adopted by the competent authorities, and decisions have been taken on measures, following the recommendations. Some of these measures were specific to religious life in Turkey. In Turkey, the Presidency of Religious Affairs (PRA) is the constitutional institution that is authorized to coordinate and regulate the religious services for the Muslims^[1]. However, PRA has been strongly criticized by society because of being too late to take and apply the required measures.

In this text, the measures taken on issues falling within the mandate of the PRA and the effects of these measures will be emphasized. However, we must express that the Christian and Jewish communities have taken their precautions and measures by using their own initiative based on the Treaty of Lausanne with the coordination of the Ministry of Internal Affairs^[2]. Accordingly, all Christian and Jewish congregations interrupted their mass worships and services until the threat of coronavirus ends. Until then, it was also decided to carry out the services and worships with a closed-circuit system.

Although the Ministries and related public institutions announced their measures in the days following 10.03.2020, when the first case was declared, the PRA had not revealed any measures until 16.03.2020. This delay is still considered as one of the reasons for the spread of the pandemic in Turkey. In this process, PRA was contended with stating that only those who were sick should not come to the Friday prayer, which is performed collectively. It was not a prohibition but wish only. This passive approach of the PRA was criticized in public opinion, and the PRA had to make important resolutions within the scope of the fight against the COVID-19 virus on 16.03.2020. The most prominent of these measures was the interruption of mass worships in mosques and masjids, including Friday prayers, until the danger of spreading the corona virus disappears. However, it was stated that mosques will be kept open for those who want to worship individually.

The PRA made a decision that was subject to controversy and criticism in the public on 27.03.2020. By that decision, the Friday Prayer was performed only in Ankara and at a mosque and with the participation of a limited number of public officials determined beforehand. That Friday Prayer was broadcasted live on a state TV channel. The live broadcast of the prayer and the mosque where was the prayer was performed was located in the Presidential complex were criticized by both religious scientists and social scientists. Despite these reactions, this symbolic performance of Friday Prayer is still being applied by the PRA except live TV broadcast^[3].

In Turkey, a part of the measures taken in the religion sphere against the threat of coronavirus is related to the holy month of Ramadan, a month which is considered special and holy by Muslims. The Scientific Committee established within the Ministry of Health declared the precautions to be taken in Ramadan, and within this framework, the Circular on the Measures of Ramadan was put into effect by the Ministry of Interior. These measures can be briefly followed by the banning of collective iftar and sahur meals^[4], restriction of the shrine, tomb visits, visiting the cemeteries only individually in a controlled manner such as using masks^[5]. The PRA made another decision regarding the month of Ramadan on 08.04.2020. According to this decision, the tarawih prayer, which is performed collectively in mosques during Ramadan, will not be performed in mosques as long as the measures taken about the coronavirus continue.

Another development regarding the measures for coronavirus threat on religion sphere of Turkey was about umrah visits. Umrah is a visit to the holy lands such as Mecca and Medina as well as the pilgrimage. In Turkey, close to 100,000 people perform the Umrah visit within a year. Although opinions had been made in the public that umrah visits should have been cancelled when the threat of the coronavirus occurred in China, the PRA did not resort to any measures in this regard^[6]. On the other hand, the Ministry of Health declared the quarantine for 10.330 Turkish citizens who were performing Umrah visits. For applying the quarantine Umrah visitors were settled in empty dormitories in Konya and Ankara after their arrivals. The quarantine was decided for 14 days as first and then it was extended to 21 days. In addition to that, there is uncertainty about the pilgrimage organization that is supposed to be held in July this year, since Saudi Arabian officials have declared that pilgrimage agreements have been postponed for now.

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[1] The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey Article 136.

[2] As a sample, for Armenian Orthodox Church http://www.turkiyeermenileripatrikligi.org/site/corona-virusu-ile-ilgili-onlemler/

[3] https://www.diyanet.gov.tr/tr-TR/Kurumsal/Detay/29453/diyanet-isleri-baskanligindan-cuma-namazi-ile-ilgili-aciklama

[4] İftar is the dinner for the end of fasting worship. Sahur is the breakfast for the beginning of fasting worship.

[5] https://www.icisleri.gov.tr/koronavirus-ile-mucadelede-ramazan-ayi-tedbirleri-genelgesi

[6] https://www.diyanet.gov.tr/tr-TR/Kurumsal/Detay/28361/umre-ziyaretleriyle-ilgili-basin-aciklamasi# ; https://www.diyanet.gov.tr/tr-TR/Kurumsal/Detay/29397/diyanet-isleri-baskanligindan-koronaviruse-karsi-alinan-tedbirlerle-ilgili-aciklama

The Italian Muslim communities have faced the challenge of contagion with a pragmatic spirit. As it known, Islam does not recognize universal leaders, and therefore chooses on the basis of the general reference principles, which in the case of epidemics refer to a hadith that prescribes «if you hear of a plague in a land do not enter it; and if it breaks out in the land where you stay, do not leave»[1]. Muslim communities in Italy have given consistent indications with this substantial precautionary principle, stopping the movements generally linked to production activities; remaining on Italian territory despite being the one most penalized by contagion after China; closing prayer rooms and mosques to avoid contagions, in line with government regulations. It should be noted that this attitude is grafted on the homologous attitude of the ecclesiastical authorities, who have indicated to the faithful alternative ritual paths by accepting the limitations imposed by governments[2].

In addition, Muslims in Italy are particularly notable for their concrete, supportive attitude, which follows their contribution capacity and which goes beyond any confessional boundary, which essentially recalls the obligation of zakat, one of the pillars of Islam. For Muslims, solidarity practices and philanthropic acts not only affect a social attitude but also constitute an essential element of religious practice. In this respect, the principle of solidarity is a key element of the whole Muslim society, basic as Buddhist ethics of compassion and the Christian commandment of love for neighbor[3].

In Islam, brotherhood of faith replaced the ancient clan, tribal, race and ancestry ties that existed in the pagan era «The believers are but brothers» (Quran, XLIX, 10)[4], generating a sense of belonging that is concretized in a spiritual and material solidarity, according to the Quranic precept: «And cooperate in righteousness and piety» (Quran, V, 2). Based on this principle, the Islamic community takes care of both spiritual and material well-being: « Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.» (Quran, IV, 36). The primary function of altruistic activities in Islam is therefore to achieve an equitable distribution of income and wealth in different ways, through direct donations from the rich to the poor, with projects of assistance for disadvantaged people and programs for community development, or trough targeted interventions that will enable the poor to become economically more autonomous[5].

Based on these shariatic references directed to humanitarian action, the Italian Muslim community stood out for the following initiatives, monitored from the beginning of the health crisis.

1. March 23, 2020. The Muslim community in Alexandria has decided to participate in the solidarity initiatives undertaken to deal with the Coronavirus epidemic by announcing that it wants to create an internal fundraiser to donate to the local hospital, and in the meantime, they have organized a blood donation[6].
2. March 23, 2020. The Essalem cultural association of Fornovo donated € 2,700 in favour of the Fornovese Green Cross in aid of the commitment to fight the epidemic[7].
3. March 23, 2020. The Muslim community of Forlì donated € 7,000 to the local health agency (Ausl)[8].
4. March 23, 2020. The Muslim community in Imola through its association House of Islamic Culture donated € 1,000 euros to the local health agency^[9].
5. March 24, 2020. In Bergamo, the local Muslim community, through the Toubkal association in collaboration with Muslim Young-BG and the Muslim Association of Bergamo, set up home delivery of groceries and medicines for the neighbourhood and for elderly people in need[10].
6. March 25, 2020. The Muslim community of Bassano del Grappa has launched an online fundraiser for donations to the San Bassiano hospital[11].
7. March 26, 2020. The Islamic cultural association of Ticino has decided to contribute to solidarity initiatives against the spread of Covid-19 by donating the sum of € 1,500 to the Municipality of Castelletto Sopra Ticino for the purchase of health disposals. Fundraising continues through a dedicated online platform and the local Islamic community solicit to donate in favour of the Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Civil Protection and Hospitals[12].
8. March 26, 2020. The hospital of Manerbio received € 1,800 from fundraisers promoted by the Islamic association Chorouk that invited the local community to continue donating what it can to fundraising for the Garda health agency[13].
9. March 27, 2020. The Muslim community of Carnate, through the local cultural center, made a small but significant donations to the AVPS association of Vimercate, whose volunteers serve in the nearby hospital[14].
10. March 30, 2020. The Muslim community of Sermide and Felonica, in the province of Mantova, made a donation through the Amici della Pace Association a contribution to the local hospital[15].
11. March 30, 2020. The Islamic Cultural Center of Brescia has donated € 7,000 to the Spedali Civili di Brescia and is also engaged in the distribution of food at home for families who are in a state of difficulty and who are unable to benefit from social safety nets[16].
12. March 31, 2020. The Islamic Culture Center of Cuneo has launched a fundraiser in favour of the local Santa Croce Hospital, appealing to the entire Muslim community and to all the citizens of Cuneo to support operators engaged in the front line to contain the advance of the Coronavirus epidemic in the city[17].
13. April 1, 2020. The fundraising organized by a collective of 13 different Muslim associations in the province of Brescia yielded € 55,805, donated to the Fondazione Comunità Bresciana onlus in favour of the public health system[18].
14. April 1, 2020. In Carpi the local Pakistani community donates € 10,000 for the fight against Coronavirus and the mayor has publicly thanked the community from his facebook page[19].
15. April 2, 2020. The Muslim community of Crema has collected € 4,450 in favour of the local hospital, reporting on the bank transfer “Covid-19 emergency”[20].
16. April 6, 2020. The Muslim community of Reggio Emilia donates € 56,000 to the structures involved in tackling the epidemic in the city and the mayor has publicly thanked the Muslim families who contributed to the fundraising[21].
17. April 6, 2020. Even DailyMuslim, the online newspaper of Italian Muslims, through Nexilia, the network of digital solutions for independent publishers, has decided to contribute during the Covid-19 emergency, by donating all the advertising revenue generated on the home pages of the network sites to Italian Red Cross, through the #RestoInHome campaign[22].
18. April 11, 2020. The Muslim community of Catania has donated € 6,000 in health disposals (gloves, masks, disinfectant) to the local Garibaldi hospital, also launching a fundraiser and continuing the distribution of food packages for families in need[23].
19. April 11, 2020. The Muslim community of Santa Croce sull’Arno donated some founds to the Coronavirus Pisa Mutual Aid Fund, set up by the Società della Salute Empolese Valdarno Valdelsa, receiving public thanks from the Mayor[24].
20. April 13, 2020. The Muslim community of Perugia and the local Muslim donor group AVIS responded with great participation to the request for blood[25].
21. April 14, 2020. The Islamic centres in Lughese Area (Lugo, Fusignano, Alfonsine, Massa Lombarda, Cotignola, Conselice, Lavezzola and Bagnacavallo) collected and donated € 22,670 to the Umberto II hospital in Lugo, to counteract the health emergency[26].
22. April 14, 2020. The Islamic cultural association Amici Del Valdarno has launched a volunteer project aimed at people who are unable to go out for shopping because of the epidemiological emergency. The initiative made in collaboration with the Islamic Federation of Toscana and the Red Cross of Figline and Incisa Valdarno provides the door shopping service for families in need[27].
23. April 15, 2020. A group of women from the Islamic association of Molinella, with a collaboration and social help spirit, create 7400 masks and donate them to the local citizenship in help to counter Coronavirus.[28]

Some initiatives have also been recorded in the international arena, like those adopted by countries such as China and Russia. Intra-Islamic cooperation, in fact, stood out for the humanitarian activism undertaken to support Italy and the Muslim communities present in the territory in the fight against the spread of the virus through substantial donations.

• April 8, 2020. The World Muslim League, known for being the most important NGO in the Islamic world based in Mecca, has donated 1 million dollars to Italian civil protection as a contribution to combat the spread of Coronavirus[29].
• April 9, 2020. Qatar has sent two field hospitals to support the Coronavirus emergency in Italy[30].

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*Professor of Muslim and Islamic countries law at the Pegaso Telematic University (Italy)

[1] Al Bukhari, Sahih, Al-Maktaba al-‘Asriyya, Beyruth, 1427 H., IV, n. 5728.

[2] Antonio Fuccillo, La religione “contagiata” dal virus? La libertà religiosa nella collaborazione Stato-Chiesa nell’emergenza covid-19, in Osservatorio delle Libertà ed Istituzioni Religiose, http://www.olir.it, 21/04/2020.

[3] Hans Kung, Islam: passato, presente e futuro, Rizzoli, Milano, 2005, p. 685.

[4] For Quran, it was used the revised edition edited by the General Presidency of the Islamic Scientific Research Directorate, Ifta, Preaching and Religious Orientation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, al-Madinat al-Munawwarah (Medina), 1351 H. (1932). 

[5] In tal senso Mohamed Ariff, La raccolta delle risorse attraverso il volontariato islamico nel Sud-est Asiatico, in Andrea Pacini (a cura di), Tasse religiose e filantropia nell’islam del Sud est asiatico, Edizioni della Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, Torino, 1997, p. 23.

[6] https://www.dailymuslim.it/la-comunita-islamica-di-alessandria-avvia-raccolta-sangue-e-fondi/

[7] https://www.dailymuslim.it/covid-19-la-solidarieta-dellassociazione-essalem-per-la-croce-verde/

[8] https://www.dailymuslim.it/la-comunita-islamica-di-forli-dona-7mila-euro-allausl/

[9] https://www.dailymuslim.it/la-comunita-islamica-di-imola-dona-mille-euro-allazienda-sanitaria-locale/

[10] https://www.dailymuslim.it/le-associazioni-islamiche-di-bergamo-al-servizio-di-chi-e-in-difficolta/

[11]https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergenza-nazionale-corona-virus?member=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2Binvitesupporters

[12]https://www.gofundme.com/f/emergenza-nazionale-corona-virus?member=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2Binvitesupporters

[13] https://www.dailymuslim.it/lassociazione-chorouk-dona-altri-1500e-allospedale-di-manerbio-bs/

[14] https://www.dailymuslim.it/la-solidarieta-della-comunita-islamica-di-carnate-mb-per-lospedale-di-vimercate/

[15] https:// http://www.dailymuslim.it/anche-a-sermide-la-comunita-islamica-contribuisce/

[16] https://www.dailymuslim.it/la-comunita-islamica-di-brescia-dona-7mila-euro-agli-spedali-civili/

[17] https://www.gofundme.com/f/aiutiamo-l039ospedale-s-croce-di-cuneo?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&fbclid=IwAR0i-zKNgp7f0OsG-1C3q0JZmqEslGpeFPsxrwPOG7EPfe9j6MH0kiNOE30

[18] https://www.dailymuslim.it/brescia-record-di-donazioni-dalla-comunita-islamica-superati-i-55-mila-euro/

[19] https://temponews.it/2020/03/31/il-grande-abbraccio-della-comunita-musulmana-a-carpi/

[20] https://www.dailymuslim.it/a-crema-lamministrazione-ringrazia-la-comunita-islamica/

[21] https://www.dailymuslim.it/reggio-emilia-la-comunita-islamica-dona-56mila-euro-e-il-sindaco-ringrazia/

[22] https://www.restoinhome.page/

[23] https://www.facebook.com/comunitaislamicadisicilia/posts/2111816985692488

[24] https://www.facebook.com/congiuliadeidda/posts/1581820935309428

[25] https://www.dailymuslim.it/a-ponte-felcino-perugia-la-comunita-islamica-risponde-presente-alla-richiesta-di-sangue/

[26] https://www.dailymuslim.it/i-musulmani-del-lughese-donano-oltre-22-mila-euro-al-locale-ospadale/

[27] https://www.dailymuslim.it/la-comunita-islamica-di-valdarno-arezzo-attiva-nella-solidarieta/

[28] https://www.dailymuslim.it/molinella-bo-donne-musulmane-producono-e-donano-7400-mascherine/

[29] http://www.futuroquotidiano.com/coronavirus-la-lega-musulmana-mondiale-dona-1-milione-di-dollari-allitalia/

[30] https://www.dailymuslim.it/il-qatar-dona-due-ospedali-da-campo-allitalia/

1. The smallest State in the world and Covid-19 emergency

The quick and aggressive outbreak from Covid-19 that spread across the planet did not spare Vatican City, the smallest State in the world created in 1929 to guarantee the Holy See “absolute independence for the fulfillment of His high mission in the world”.

The finalistic element underlying the institution of Vatican City allows us to understand the qualifications of the Civitas Vaticana that have been offered over time: State-medium, Instrumental State, Apparatus State. This naturally does not detract from the character of a true State that it possesses, nor does it undermine that purpose which is proper and characteristic of every political society, namely the pursuit of the common good of the affiliates.

Vatican City is developed in an area of ​​just 0.44 square kilometers, inside the city of Rome. This is unique reality compared to other traditional constitutive elements of each state, namely the people and sovereignty^[1].

The Vatican people is composed by Vatican citizens. Vatican citizenship, which is granted for the free determination of sovereign authority, is a functional citizenship, issued mainly from the office covered by each citizen in the Vatican State or in the Roman Curia.

Vatican sovereignty belongs to the Holy See, understood in the most restricted sense of the Roman Pontiff. The Pope is in fact the absolute monarch, bringing together all the powers (legislative, executive and judicial), even if ordinarily he does not exercise them directly but through the permanent entrustment to organs that, with distinct competences, perform the related functions.

We are in the presence of a single state reality, in which there is no real stable population and no social classes and political or cultural currents. Hence the inopportunity of any definition of Vatican City as a theocratic or hierocratic state since the Civitas Vaticana, while presenting a priestly caste in a pre-eminent position with respect to citizens, is nothing but a “great ecclesiastical apparatus that governs itself”, without therefore oppress their own population in the name of a certain religious creed as happens instead in true theocratic states^[2].

To the aforementioned constitutive characteristics of the state is also added the fact that no productive activities are found in Civitas Vaticana, in fact there is a public monopoly of economic activity.

2. Covid-19 crosses the Vatican walls

The normal and daily contacts between Italy and Civitas Vaticana, on various institutional, work and religious occasions, have allowed the outbreak of the  virus rapidly cross the Vatican walls, making the boundaries between the two state realities imperceptible precisely because of the nature of the enclave that characterizes the Vatican City, entirely surrounded by Italian territory.

The actual^[3] cases of infection, between Vatican citizens and employees of the Holy See, are eight.

A small number if compared to the large and sad numbers of the various European states and the rest of the world.  It appears even less if we consider the large flow of people who pass through the Vatican’s daily access for work reasons. Think also of the pilgrims and tourists who visited – before the closing measures – St. Peter’s Basilica or the Vatican Museums or the numerous Italians who go daily to the Vatican Pharmacy.

Adding  this the continuous flow of people in other “Vatican” properties,   mostly located in the immediate vicinity of the Vatican State – in which many Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and connected to the Holy See.
It is therefore evident “that contiguity of personal and legal relationships that connects both sides of the Tevere river, and that commonality of language, habits, lifestyle, which constitutes the substratum of all true familiarity. It follows, for example, that very few of those who cross the imaginary line that unites the two ends of Bernini’s colonnade in St. Peter’s Square psychologically warn that they are crossing the border between two states. […] Too many links between the Vatican, the Roman reality, the Italian Church, ecclesiastical institutions and civil institutions, which end up favoring the dense network of contacts, exchanges of opinions and proposals, which make the two realities close and almost intimate, one to the other”^[4].

The concerns arising from Covid-19 that animate the Vatican City State seem – at first sight – to be the same as those that are afflicting the other state realities of the world, all aimed at protecting the health and life of the affiliates.
Whether it is the Holy See or ecclesiastical authorities at national and local level, there is therefore the sharing – by the entire Catholic Church – of the just concerns of civil authorities towards “situations such as the one in which it is in play the good health and the good life of every single person, as well as the common good of the whole society”^[5].

3. Covid-19 and legislative / administrative measures in Vatican City State

The Pope’s state has been able to react to the Covid-19 emergency with promptness and determination, adopting numerous measures in coordination with those launched by the Italian authorities^[6]. It should be stressed that these are measures which are sometimes of a regulatory nature, sometimes of an administrative nature.

As for the former, think of the Rescriptum ex audientia Sanctissimi, and its annex, with which some extraordinary and urgent measures have been issued to counter the epidemiological emergency from Covid-19 and contain the negative effects on the conduct of judicial activity. The suspension of all procedural activities in progress at the judicial offices of the SCV was therefore ordered, as well as the related limitation and forfeiture terms, then providing for exceptions with regard to the internal investigative activity and more generally prior to the hearing and with regard to those procedures that need to be treated for urgent reasons^[7]. This is basically a regulatory provision adopted directly by the Holy Father as monarch of the state, and therefore not by the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State which usually exercises the legislative power which the Pontiff is in any case owner of.

The measures adopted of an administrative nature, think of the provisions that already on February 25 the Health and Hygiene Directorate of the Governorate of the Vatican City State sent electronically for the prevention and spread of the Covid-19 infection, to be poste in the places of work and at the entrance of services open to the public. Or to the provisions of the same Health and Hygiene Department which have re-proposed those prudential containment measures adopted by most States^[8].

It should be noted how similar provisions were adopted through administrative measures by one of the Departments that make up the Governorate of the Vatican City State and therefore not by resorting to those provisions having the force of law that the President of the Pontifical Commission for the State Vatican City has the power to enact in cases of necessity and urgency.

By extending the radius of action to the entire Roman Curia and to the entities connected to the Holy See^[9], the first section of the Secretariat of State has released some special rules to be observed by proposing even more drastic rules of prudence for Civitas Vaticana and for extra-territorial^[10] buildings, considering the extent of the infection^[11].

This resulted in the closure, as a precaution, of the Vatican Museums, the Excavation Office, the Museum of the Pontifical Villas and the museum centers of the pontifical basilicas^[12], and, a few days later, the closure of the Piazza and the Basilica of San Pietro and the opening with contingent entrances to the Vatican Pharmacy and Annona supermarket^[13].

The provision of the Papal Secretariat on the one hand notes that the containment measures “impact on the private and working life of Vatican employees”, on the other it explicitly states that “it trusts in the sense of responsibility of each in the adoption of all measures [ …] indicated to protect one’s own health and that of the whole working community”^[14].

The statements made by the Secretariat of State may seem obvious, completely coinciding with what is foreseen by other States, but it assumes – for the Vatican working reality -an additional value since the employment relationship with the Holy See and the Vatican City State goes beyond the traditional concept of labor^[15].

As sustained by John Paul II in the letter to Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, those who work for the Holy See and the Vatican City State constitute a singular community that operates “sub umbra Petri“, in such immediate contact with the Apostolic See. Beyond the duties carried out, each worker participates “truly in the one and unceasing activity of the Apostolic See, that is, in that «concern for all the Churches»  […] in a primary measure […] the prerogative of the successors of St. Peter in the Roman See”^[16].

In such a scenario of service to the Apostolic See there is also the decision – to “ensure essential services to the Universal Church” – to keep the dicasteries and entities of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State open, in coordination with the Secretariat of State^[17], applying at the same time all the sanitary norms and flexibility mechanisms at work established by the Papal Secretariat such as delocalized work, limiting the movements of the employees^[18].

Despite the appropriate precautionary measures, the opening of the various Dicasteries and institutions – continuing only with essential and mandatory activities – has guaranteed, and guarantees, the exercise of the Petrine ministry^[19].

4. Economic consequences deriving from Covid-19 in Vatican City State

As for the disastrous economic consequences deriving from Covid-19, with reference to the situation of some enclave states, such as the Co-Principality of Andorra and the Principality of Monaco, it has been argued that the aforementioned micro-states “because of their limited territorial scope and without potential shock absorbers due to their belonging to over-state containers such as the EU, are afraid emerge from this terrible pandemic economically shattered and broken in their identity structure”^[20].

What is expected for the Vatican City State, which is an enclave of Italy and the European Union?

Any reflection in this regard must take into due consideration the peculiarities of the Vatican City State, an enclave State which can only be assimilated in part to the aforementioned micro-states since in the Civitas Vaticana, where, among other things, there is a public monopoly on economic activity, it is not there are productive activities.
The Holy See and Vatican City State also find themselves operating in hoc mundo like Italy and other states and remain subject to the same contingent concerns, including economic and financial ones^[21]. Think of the decrease in revenues deriving from the temporary closure of the Vatican Museums, whose sale of entrance tickets is one of the most important revenues for the State^[22].

5. Old and new bonds of solidarity between the Holy See, Vatican City State and Italy

In other respects, the Covid-19 emergency has strengthened the bonds of solidarity between the Holy See, Vatican City State and Italy, ancient bonds that have always involved Italy and the Holy See in “mutual collaboration for the promotion of man and the good of the country”, as stated in the first article of the Agreement of Villa Madama.
A first bond of solidarity is found precisely in the timely adaptation of the Italian legislation by the Vatican City State, however without formally transposing the Italian provisions, but on the basis of Vatican regulatory and administrative provisions in line with the Italian ones^[23]. This solidarity has made it possible to avoid the creation – through the invocation of concepts such as sovereignty and independence – of the areas totally free from the common struggle against Covid-19 such that they cannot contain the spread of the epidemic.
Other constraints of solidarity are found in some initiatives adopted by subjects and entities belonging to the Holy See. Think of the willingness manifested by the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) and of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples^[24], owners of the management of the properties of the Holy See, to accept requests for temporary reduction of commercial lease payments, in light of the situations of particular economic suffering that the tenants of properties located in Italy are facing, as a consequence of the measures issued by the Italian Authorities to stem the spread of Covid-19.
Or think of the invitation made by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of His Holiness, to about 250 heads of dicasteries, secretaries and prelates, to donate a monthly salary, as a sign of union with the Holy Father, who will then decide the destination of the collected alms for the Covid-19 health emergency^[25].

Another sign of solidarity with Italy, expressed by the Holy See, was the display of flags at half-mast, in mourning, to express their closeness to the victims of the pandemic in Italy and in the world^[26].

6. Vatican City State and Covid-19 emergency between God and Pope Francis

Finally, a consideration must be made about the confessional nature of the Vatican City State as a “Catholic State”.

In order to qualify the Civitas Vaticana, this expression indicates a state which, “in its political action and in its right, tends to conform to the teachings of the Church on temporal realities and their regiment. The values ​​conveyed by these teachings certainly animate and support the Vatican order”^[27].

Contrary to one of the possible scenarios recently and rhetorically proposed for other states, namely “a West [which] will emerge from the emergency strengthened in its identity as a secularized space, in which the power of science counts most and where religion it survives only as subordinate and residual”^[28], for the Holy See and the Vatican City State, awareness of the role of the Catholic religion and other religions remains firm.

The Cardinal Major Penitentiary in the letter to the confessors said that “the social distancing required for health reasons, even if necessary, cannot, nor should ever translate into ecclesial distancing, let alone in theological-sacramental distancing” after specifying that “Mercy does not it stops and God does not distance itself”^[29].

Even in the Vatican City State, God does not remain on the edge of the scene.
And certainly Pope Francis, who is the absolute monarch of the Vatican State, is not at the margins of the scene, not at all resigned to the tragic situation that the world is experiencing, and who – in the storm of his controversial pontificate^[30] – thinks of his “current responsibilities and in the after that he will come”, to his “service as bishop of Rome, as head of the Church”, living the pandemic in the name of prayer and having as his greatest concern that of “accompanying the people of God and being closer to him”^[31].

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*Professor of canon law, LUMSA University (Rome)

[1] On constitutive elements, see  G. Dalla Torre, Lezioni di diritto vaticano, Torino, 2018.

[2] C. Cardia, Principi di diritto ecclesiastico. Tradizione europea legislazione italiana, IV ed., Torino, 2019, pp. 308-310.

[3] Holy See Press Office, Bollettino, Comunicato della Sala Stampa,  8^th April 2020.

[4]  C. Cardia, La condizione giuridica ex art. 16 Trattato del Laterano del Pontifico Seminario Lombardo (Parere pro rei veritate), in G. Dalla Torre- P. A. Bonnet (a cura di), Annali di diritto vaticano 2017, Città del Vaticano, 2017, pp. 14-15 (my translation).

[5] G. Dalla Torre, Gli ordini dati dello Stato e l’ordine interno della Chiesa, in Avvenire, 22^nd March  2020, p. 3 (my translation).

[6] On italian measures, and their influence on the “religious behavior and old-centuries rules that have resisted many other plagues”, see P. Consorti, Religions and virus, in Diresom Papers (www.diresomem.net –  9^th March 2020).

On the “new emergency rights” see L. M. Guzzo, Law and Religion during (and after)  Covid-19 Emergency: the law is made for man not man for law, in Diresom Papers (www.diresomem.net – 30^th March 2020).

[7] Segreteria di Stato, Rescriptum ex audientia Sanctissimi, 18^th March 2020, in L’Osservatore Romano, 20^th -21^st March 2020, p. 7. (Suspension until 3^rd April 2020, later prolonged to 4^th May 2020 by a new Rescriptum (1^st April 2020, in L’Osservatore Romano, 3^rd April 2020, p. 8).

[8] Stato della Città del Vaticano, Governatorato, Direzione di Sanità ed Igiene, Norme per il contenimento dell’infezione da Covid-19, 6^th March 2020.

[9] See J. I. Arrieta, Le istituzioni collegate con la Santa Sede, in G. Dalla Torre- P. A. Bonnet (a cura di), Annali di diritto vaticano 2016, Città del Vaticano, 2016, pp. 7-28.

[10] See G. Dalla Torre, L’“extraterritorialità” nel Trattato del Laterano, Torino, 2016.

[11] Segreteria di Stato, Prima sezione – Affari generali, Norme speciali da osservarsi nei Dicasteri e negli altri Enti della Santa Sede o ad essa collegati e nel Governatorato dello Stato della Città del Vaticano, per il contenimento dell’infezione da Covid-19, 8^th March 2020.

[12] Holy See Press Office, Bollettino, Comunicato della Sala Stampa, 8^th March 2020.

[13] Holy See Press Office, Bollettino, Comunicato della Sala Stampa, 10^th March 2020.

[14] Segreteria di Stato, Prima sezione – Affari generali, Norme speciali da osservarsi nei Dicasteri e negli altri Enti della Santa Sede o ad essa collegati e nel Governatorato dello Stato della Città del Vaticano, per il contenimento dell’infezione da Covid-19, 8^th March 2020.

[15] See M. Persiani, Il lavoro sub umbra Petri, Pref. di G. Dalla Torre, Roma, 2016.

[16] Giovanni Paolo II, Lettera del Sommo Pontefice circa il significato del lavoro prestato alla Sede Apostolica, 20^th  November 1982, in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 75 (1983), pp. 119-125. See A. M. Cappelletti, Lettera del beato Giovanni Paolo II circa il significato del lavoro prestato alla Sede Apostolica del 20 novembre 1982, in Scritti in onore di Franco Bolognini, Cosenza, 2011, pp. 165-184

[17] Holy See Press Office, Bollettino, Comunicato della Sala Stampa, 12^th March 2020.

[18] Segreteria di Stato, Prima sezione – Affari generali, Disposizioni per il personale dei Dicasteri, degli altri Enti della Santa Sede o ad essa collegati e del Governatorato dello Stato della Città del Vaticano, 11^th March  2020.

[19] Segreteria di Stato, Sezione per gli affari generali, Lettera (n. 487.558) del Segretario di Stato Card. Pietro Parolin ai Capi Dicastero della Curia Romana, 30^th March 2020.

[20] A. De Oto, The Republic of San Marino and the practice of worship in the  Covid-19 era: between history, common law and emergency decrees, in Diresom Papers (www.diresomem.net – 3^rd  April  2020).

[21] On relationship between Church and economy see M. d’Arienzo, Chiesa ed economia, in Diritto e religioni, 2009, 2, pp. 214-224.

[22] See P. V. Aimone Braida, Le finanze del Papa, Città del Vaticano, 2016, pp. 212-214.

[23] N. Colaianni, La libertà di culto al tempo del coronavirus, in Stato, Chiese e pluralismo confessionale, Rivista telematica (www.statoechiese.it), 2020, 7, p. 39, says that Pope Francis has spontaneously observed in Vatican City State  italian decrees [“… consapevole che il suo Stato è una enclave nel territorio italiano, non ha deciso indipendentemente le misure da adottare né ha imbastito intese con lo Stato ma ha applicato spontaneamente al suo interno decreti italiani”].

[24] Holy See Press Office, Bollettino, Comunicato della Sala Stampa, 10^th March 2020.

[25] https://www.vaticannews.va/it/vaticano/news/2020-04/covid-elemosineria-apostolica-solidarieta-offerta-curia-romana.html  (6^th April 2020).

[26] Holy See Press Office, Bollettino, Comunicato della Sala Stampa, 31^st March 2020.

[27] G. Dalla Torre, Lezioni di diritto vaticano, p. 55 (my translation).

[28] M. Ventura, Dov’è Dio? Dio soffre con l’uomo. Il contagio sfida la fede, conversazione con R. Dell’Oro, S. Dianich e C. Militello, in La lettura, Corriere della Sera, 22^nd March 2020, pp. 8-9 (my translation).

[29] Lettera del Card. Mauro Piacenza, Penitenziere Maggiore, ai penitenzieri e ai confessori in occasione della S. Pasqua 2020, 4^th April 2020,

in http://www.penitenzieria.va/content/penitenzieriaapostolica/it/profilo/organico/penitenziere-maggiore/discorsi-e-interventi/lettera-pasqua-2020.html (my translation).

[30] See A. Mantineo-L. M. Guzzo (a cura di), Il Papa venuto dalla “fine del mondo” per la Chiesa del terzo millennio, Milano, 2019.

[31] See A. Ivereigh, Il Papa confinato. Intervista a Papa Francesco, 8^th April 2020,  in https://www.laciviltacattolica.it/news/il-papa-confinato-intervista-a-papa-francesco/

The past week has truly been one of passion for the Orthodox ecumene, already marked by suffering due to the impossibility to participate in the celebrations of Holy Week due to the pandemic, but, even more so, being suspended in the anguished doubt as to the accomplishment of the miracle of the lighting of the “Sacred Fire”, the central fulcrum of the celebrations of Orthodox Easter, this year or perhaps especially this year.

Given the strict restrictive measures adopted by Israel to contain the contagion from CoViD-19 – which led to the closure of the Basilica of the Resurrection in Jerusalem until a date yet to be decided – until the last minute there was great uncertainty as to the possibility to draw on the “Holy Light”, which is released at the time of “Anastasi” from the Savior’s tomb.

In fact, since time immemorial, inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher during the Easter liturgy, the spontaneous ignition of a prodigious flame has taken place in the hands of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch. In the place where Christ, by rising, defeated death, the miracle is renewed every year and, according to Eastern tradition, will cease only at the advent of the final apocalypse.

During Vespers on Holy Saturday evening, after being stripped of all liturgical vestments – except for the sticarium – and being scrupulously searched by the Israeli civil authorities, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem^[1], enters, accompanied by the Armenian Patriarch, into the Sepulcher, bringing with him the extinguished torches.

Even the shrine of the tomb of Christ is previously searched and closed with honey and wax seals, on which the Christian confessions and the civil authorities affix their effigy, having for centuries, in various capacities, boasted rights over the Basilica^[2].

The Patriarch gathers in prayer, in absolute silence until a hiss is heard, accompanied almost simultaneously by blue and white flashes which, flickering from all sides, invade the Church of the Resurrection. At that moment, the Patriarch’s torches light up spontaneously with a blue flame that is lit but does not burn^[3]: it is the “Sacred Fire”, which miraculously symbolizes the resurrection of Christ, light of the world.

Released from the Sepulcher, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch distributes the “Holy Light” to the faithful gathered in prayer and to the representatives of the other Orthodox churches, who wait outside and then transport it, with great solemnity, to their respective countries^[4].

The miracle of the ignition of the Άγιο Φως, documented from ancient sources, has never been interrupted over the centuries^[5]. On the only occasion of 1349, entry to the Savior’s tomb was prohibited, due to the spread of the “black plague”, which was causing millions of victims in Europe and Asia and almost permanently marking that painful period of the Middle Ages.

CoViD-19 is therefore the second pandemic in history to have imposed the closure of the Holy Sepulcher, decreed precisely by the Israeli Minister of Health, Rabbi Yaakov Litzam.

Thus even Jerusalem, the Holy City par excellence, has had to bow to the invisible enemy^[6]: this caused be wilderment in the Orthodox world where the miraculous gift of the “Holy Light” and its distribution in every church, even in the most small and remote parish, is a unique and essential part of the Easter celebrations, awaited with extreme emotion and trepidation by worshippers.

In order to preserve this age-old tradition and to protect freedom of worship – already severely compressed everywhere by measures to contain the epidemic – feverish consultations have begun between the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, the Custos of the Holy Land Francesco Patton, the Patriarch Armenian Nourhan Manoughian and the Israeli authorities.

Not without some understandable difficulties^[7], the Foreign Minister of Israel, with a decision greatly appreciated by the Orthodox world, has finally granted permission to the religious authorities, in observance of all the precautions imposed by the health emergency, to enter the tomb of Christ to receive and transfer the  Light of the Resurrection to the representatives of all the Orthodox countries gathered in Jerusalem.

The ceremony, which in normal times would have seen thousands of worshippers waiting in the medieval courtyard of the Holy Sepulcher and all around the Basilica, took place this year in a deserted Jerusalem, in the presence of the few representatives of the Orthodox churches^[8], who were able to witness the repetition of the prodigious event.

During the trip to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, the “Holy Light”, escorted by the Israeli police, stopped at the Jaffa Gate, one of the eight oldest gates of the old city of Jerusalem, where representatives of the Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Romanian, Georgian and Vltava Churches were waiting for it in order to transport it in time for the Άνάσταση to the lands of origin.

The current exceptional circumstances thus imposed drastic downsizing even of the ceremonies scheduled on arrival at the destination of the Άγιο Φως.

According to custom, the ceremony reserved for Heads of State is applied in Greece upon the arrival of the extraordinary “guest of honor”. On the contrary, this year, at Athens airport, solemnities were limited, reduced to the presence of a small military procession, a few representatives of the government and the local Church – including the Exarch of the Holy Sepulcher – and a very reduced number of members of the press, all at a safe distance.

Despite the satisfaction deriving from the successful outcome of the diplomatic negotiations with the Israeli government, conducted with “surgical caution”, the Greek government’s dilemma for days was that of the possible risk implications of the distribution of the “Holy Light” throughout the national territory.

In the face of the unavoidable dangers of spreading the virus associated with the numerous journeys – by land, air and sea – necessary to reach the most distant places, the scattered islands and the most isolated parishes, the government had to take into due consideration the high expectations of Orthodox worshippers, already intensely tested by the closure of the churches unilaterally ordered by the Government at the end of a long tug-of-war with the ecclesiastical authorities, of which significant controversial reflections have not yet been extinguished.

For the executive power, it was a matter of finding a fair and delicate balance between the irrepressible requirements to protect public health and the right of religious freedom of citizens.

The statement by the Deputy Foreign Minister, Konstantinos Vlassis, expressed on Good Friday evening, finally put an end to the expectations of the ecclesiastical authorities and worshippers: the Άγιο Φως, which arrived from Jerusalem to Athens on the afternoon of Holy Saturday, “from the airport will only be transferred to the Exarchate of the Holy Sepulcher, where it will be kept. In observance of the measures taken against the pandemic by CoViD-19, it will not be transferred to other parishes nor will it be distributed to the faithful”^[9].

This decision was certainly difficult to make as it was very unpopular; however, on this occasion, the Orthodox Church sided with the Government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and through the mouth of the Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, Ieronimos, encouraged his flock not to disperse, but to “experience the Resurrection in the ecclesial communion of domestic churches, staying at home for love, placing the we before the I”.

The intense and penetrating verse of the poet Kostas Varnalis, seems to have been written for the painful Easter celebrations of this year, at the end of which worshippers would not be able to bring the “Holy Light” to their homes, but only to keep it in their hearts: “It is not worthy to see your holy light / the eye without crying tears of blood”^[10].

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* Associate professor of law and religion, University of Ferrara.

[1] Among the representatives of the Christian churches in the Holy Land, he is the only person authorized to welcome the “Sacred Fire”.

[2] The Latin, Greek and Armenian churches alone, which are entrusted with the daily opening and closing of the Holy Sepulcher, recognize the right to celebrate liturgies there. Further prerogatives are boasted by other Christian communities, such as the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church. By ancient tradition, two Muslim Palestinian families have the key to the only access door to the Sepulcher.

[3] The sacred fire is lit for thirty-three minutes exactly, after which it begins to burn and the flame changes color, from blue-green to red.

[4] In most Orthodox countries, the event is televised live and takes on a particular symbolic and liturgical value during Holy Week.

[5] See F. Cardini, S. Della Seta, Il Guardiano del santo Sepolcro, Mondadori, 2000.

[6] The epidemic also prevented the celebrations of Latin Easter at the Holy Sepulcher, including the Via Crucis on the Via Dolorosa and the Passion. Compare here and here.

[7] For the government of Israel to comply with the requests of Christian leaders and give them access to the Sepulcher to welcome the “Sacred Fire”, it meant opening a dispute with Jews and Muslims since the Minister of Health has ordered the closure of every place of worship, also of the Western Wall, of all mosques and synagogues.

[8] The Greek Orthodox Church, in observance of the contagion prevention measures ordered by the government, avoided sending, as usual, its own representation to the Greek delegation who went to Jerusalem to receive the Άγιο Φως and accompany it during the journey to Athens. This year it was the Consul General of Greece in Israel who delivered the “Holy Light”, to the steps of the Air Force aircraft (provided by the Greek State for this purpose) to the crew, who were not allowed to step onto Israeli soil, due to the quarantine. See here.

[9]See here and here.