The spiritual head of Orthodox Christians worldwide has ordered churches to halt services and rites until the end of March in response to the spread of the coronavirus, the Ecumenical Patriarchate said.
The patriarchate, which is the seat of the spiritual leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, announced the move in a statement issued in the Turkish city of Istanbul late on Wednesday.
"Today we universally declare our ecclesiastical resolution and mandate to cease all divine services, events, and rites, with the exception of private prayer in churches that will remain open, until the end of March," the patriarchate said.