In a test of faith, Christians mark Good Friday in isolation
Associated PressJERUSALEM — On the day set aside to mark Christ’s crucifixion, most churches stood empty. Instead, Christians around the world commemorated Good Friday behind closed doors, seeking solace in online services and trying to uphold centuries-old traditions in a world locked down by the coronavirus pandemic. Inside Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the chanting of a small group of clerics echoed faintly through the heavy wooden doors, as a few people kneeled outside to pray. James Joseph, a Christian pilgrim from Detroit dubbed “the Jesus guy” because he wears robes and goes about barefoot, lives near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher year-round. Members of the Utah-based faith widely known as the Mormon church normally fast one day a month in a practice they believe prepares people to receive God’s blessings.