VICTORIA -- Victoria’s Christ Church Cathedral is the last Anglican church to remain open on Vancouver Island, following an announcement made by the Anglican Diocese of B.C. Monday that said all its other churches in the CRD would be closed for 60 days.
While the historic cathedral will remain open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the church’s services have been cancelled and new protocols have been put in place.
The cathedral adds that it will abide by the provincial health authority’s ban on public gatherings larger than 50 people, and will limit the number of people inside the church at one time.
The 124-year-old church says that it has decided to remain open so that people can have a spiritual space for individual prayer and respite.
“It is important in times of uncertainty for people to have quiet places to collect their thoughts and gird themselves for the challenges of their day,” said Ansley Tucker, cathedral dean, in an announcement Monday.
“Over the next few weeks, the Cathedral will also reach out to the community frequently through recorded readings and music, as well as livestreamed services,” she said.
For the foreseeable future, the cathedral’s opening hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The Chapel of the New Jerusalem will be closed indefinitely, however.
Meanwhile, all programs and services are suspended until further notice, except for the cathedral walking group.
While the cathedral remains open, church staff are practicing new cleaning protocols and will ensure that no more than 50 people are gathered in the cathedral at once and that everyone is abiding by recommended social distancing.
Last week, B.C. Premier John Horgan held a conference call with faith leaders across the province. He said at the time that many people turn to faith leaders for comfort and advice during challenging times and that he wanted to ensure they were as up-to-date on the spread of COVID-19 as possible.
