The Washington National Cathedral on Thursday asked worshipers to “bump elbows” at the sign of peace rather than shaking hands in order to combat the coronavirus’s spread.
The cathedral, one of the largest churches in the United States, is the latest to modify its rituals as the disease caused by the coronavirus, COVID-19, spreads. Randy Hollerith, the dean of the cathedral, asked in a letter to the church’s community that, in addition to bumping elbows, church attendees refrain from dipping communion wafers in the communal chalice and stay home from church if they feel sick.
“We are committed to a warm welcome for everyone who comes to the Cathedral, but we want to be safe, smart, and approach this new reality with an abundance of caution,” Hollerith wrote.
Washington has not experienced a coronavirus outbreak, but the Episcopal cathedral’s precautions echo those of many church communities that have faced the disease.
Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne on Tuesday directed members of his diocese to refrain from shaking hands at the sign of peace and not to hold hands during the Our Father. He also urged Catholics to avoid receiving the Holy Eucharist on the tongue, to stop receiving communion from the chalice, and for priests to empty out holy water fonts until further notice. Washington state is the center of a coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., with 45 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.
Many other Catholic dioceses followed suit, including the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Diocese of Charleston, and the Archdiocese of Hartford, which all issued similar decrees over the next two days. The Archdiocese of Chicago asked priests to wash their hands before mass and before distributing communion.
Other faiths have changed their worship services as well. Several Muslim imams have advised that people who meet for Friday prayer groups stay home instead of meeting together. Some have also told those meeting at mosques to refrain from physical contact.
“For the time being, it may be worth avoiding touch and switching to a hand on the heart, a respectful nod, and a warm smile,” Omar Ricci, spokesman of the Islamic Center of Southern California, wrote in an email to congregants, according to the Associated Press.
On Wednesday, Life.Church pastor Craig Groeschel placed himself in a self-imposed quarantine after learning that he attended a conference along with other people who had been exposed to a victim of the disease. In a video to his nearly 90,000 congregants, Groeschel said that the quarantine did not bother him.
“The good news is I’ve gotten time to pray,” he said. “I’ve written sermon outlines through, like, the end of May.”
