Many churches in the Washington, D.C.-area are on high alert after an Episcopal pastor this weekend tested positive for the coronavirus.
Timothy Cole, who has led Christ Church in Georgetown since 2016, was diagnosed late Saturday evening with the COVID-19 virus. The church canceled all services the following Sunday, the first time since a fire in the 1800s.
Cole had been diagnosed with the flu, and it was thought that he had recovered, according to a spokesman for the church. The previous Sunday, he had delivered a sermon about the importance of good hygiene and, after washing his hands, distributed communion. Christ Church typically practices common cup communion, where congregants all drink wine from the same chalice.
Late Monday night, the church confirmed a second case, organist Tom Smith. Smith has self-quarantined himself and his husband in their home until further notice, according to Rob Volmer, a spokesman for the church. The church reported another case of the virus Tuesday morning, a man from Loudoun County, Virginia, who visited on the Sunday that Cole distributed communion.
Following the news of Cole’s diagnosis, about 200 families put themselves in self-quarantine to avoid further spread of the disease, according to church officials. Georgetown Day School, a high school, some of whose community members have close ties to Christ Church, announced Tuesday afternoon that it would close temporarily “for a deep clean.”
As the situation at Christ Church unfolds, other local church communities are taking note. Both the Archdiocese of Washington and the Diocese of Arlington have taken precautionary steps: removing holy water from fonts, asking communicants to receive it by hand, and limiting the distribution of the Precious Blood to just priests. Both dioceses have also recommended congregants not to shake hands during the sign of peace or the Lord’s Prayer.
Many other Catholic dioceses in the United States have also instituted these practices over the past several weeks. A spokesperson for the Diocese of Arlington told the Washington Examiner that it is monitoring the local situation as it develops and that it has instituted all changes “in an abundance of caution.”
Both dioceses have urged sick people to stay home and watch mass on TV, explaining that illness grants an exception for their Sunday obligations.
Georgetown Presbyterian Church, which is nearby Christ Church, reported to congregants after service this Sunday that one of its members had been exposed to a person with the coronavirus while attending the Conservative Political Action Committee conference. This person, church leaders said, had shaken hands with American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp, who publicly stated that he was exposed to the coronavirus.
In response, Georgetown Presbyterian has canceled church lunches for the foreseeable future, made its services available on livestream video, and deep cleaned areas of the church where congregants gather.
The church has not yet decided how to respond if a congregant contracts the disease, a spokesman said, telling the Washington Examiner that for now, it is handling the coronavirus on a “case-by-case” basis.
Meanwhile, Saint Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral has taken a more measured approach to the virus. In keeping with directives from leadership in New York, it has replaced the kiss of peace with bows and has instructed parishioners to bring their books from home. But, unlike many other churches in the city, Saint Sophia’s has not changed its methods for distributing communion.
Greek Orthodox communion involved a form of common cup communion where celebrants distribute the Precious Blood to congregants with a communal spoon. This decision not to change the practice came from New York, a spokesman for the cathedral told the Washington Examiner.
“Ultimately, the clergy must do what the hierarchy requires,” he said.
The Greek Orthodox Church’s ruling body, the Holy Synod, on Monday declared that distributing communion in this way does not pose a significant risk for spreading the coronavirus.
“Whoever attends Holy Communion is approaching God, who has the power to heal,” church leadership said.
