Despite a state of emergency and calls from the government to stay indoors, thousands of Orthodox Christians in Georgia attended ceremonies to mark Easter last night in a move which health officials have warned could prove disastrous.

Footage filmed at an Easter vigil at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tblisi on Saturday (April 18th) night showed the 87-year-old head of the church, Ilia II, unmasked and surrounded by other clergymen.

The congregation could be seen trying to maintain separation between each other.

Earlier this week, the Prime Minister and the church struck a deal to allow Easter services to be held but with some precautions to protect churchgoers from Covid-19, such as social distancing.

Hundreds of Christian parishioners went to churches in ex-Soviet Georgia to attend Orthodox Easter Vigil despite a state of emergency and calls from the government and doctors to stay home amid outbreak of the coronavirus.

Dozens went to the South Caucasus country's main Sameba (Saint Trinity) cathedral in the capital Tbilisi, where 87-year-old Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II held the service.
1. VARIOUS OF ORTHODOX PRIESTS WEARING MASKS TAKING PART IN PROCESSION AROUND HOLY TRINITY CATHEDRAL OF TBILISI CARRYING ICONS AND CROSSES
2.ARRIVAL OF THE HOLY FIRE IN GEORGIA