After 40 days of Lent, people in the city observed Good Friday with prayers and services. Good Friday is commemorated by Christians as the day Jesus Christ was betrayed and crucified on the cross.
Different kinds of services were held by Churches At St Mary’s Basilica in Shivajinagar, Catholics conducted the service in three languages — English, Kannda and Tamil, followed by the Way of the Cross around the church which reminds the congregation the journey of Jesus to the Calvary.
Each service had around 5,000 people with five priests. The congregation was then given soft drink with cross buns to break their fast. “Lunch was distributed to the homeless,” said Dominic Wilson, the church warden.
The St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Church at Queen’s Road too observed Good Friday from 7 am to 4 pm. During which time the congregation was given herbal and bitter extracts of aloe-vera to remind them about the bitterness that Jesus suffered when he was crucified on the cross. “After the service, they were provided with rice-porridge and moong-dal to show their respect on this mournful day,” said I K Varghese, a committee member.
As a church of south India, St James Church, Lingarajapuram, conducted their service from 9 am to 1 pm through praise and worship with a series about seven messages of the cross. “The crowd has been increasing rapidly over the years. It is heartening to see youngsters participate so actively in these religious celebrations,” says Thomas George, secretary of the church.