Catholics of Caucasus and Southern Russia welcome second Easter amid pandemic

Catholic communities of Southern Russia and countries of Southern Caucasus have changed the format of Easter services and abandoned the traditional mass celebrations in order to take precautions against coronavirus spread danger.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in 2020, due to the pandemic, believers of Catholic churches in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, reacted with understanding to the need to limit themselves to watching online broadcasts of the Easter liturgies, just like believers in Armenia.

Many countries have cancelled mass events or restricted the number of attendees. This year in Russia, parishioners are allowed to attend festive masses, provided the safety standards are observed.

In the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), three regions, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and the Stavropol Territory, have Catholic parishes.

The Georgian authorities have congratulated the country residents on the Catholic Easter. "I cordially congratulate our fellow citizens and everyone who celebrates the holiday of spiritual uplift, the victory of life and the victory of the good over the evil," President Salome Zurabishvili wrote on the Facebook.

The Catholic community of Abkhazia has about 150 believers; more than half of them live in Sukhumi. There are also few Catholic groups in the cities of Gagra and Pitsunda.

In Baku, the first Roman Catholic parish was established by the Russian Army in the 1850s, when military servicemen-Catholics were exiled to the Caucasus.