Bishop removes all COVID restrictions in churches

Bishop Richard F. Stika has removed all previously decreed COVID-19 restrictions and directives regarding the liturgy and celebration of the sacraments at Diocese of Knoxville churches.

Additionally, Bishop Stika has removed all previously decreed COVID-19 restrictions and directives regarding parish and group events where food and beverages are served.

Bishop Sitka issued the updated decree on March 3 and said it is effective immediately.

Read the full decree here.

In the decree, the bishop said the diocese has been monitoring the procedures, recommendations, and guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Tennessee state and local health departments to make sure that all diocesan parishes have responded appropriately to the spread of the coronavirus since its outbreak in the United States in the first part of 2020.

“I have taken into account the rapid decline in infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths, our emergence from the winter flu season, and the now widespread availability of vaccinations, in particular those in vulnerable demographic categories,” Bishop Stika said, adding that for the time being, holy Communion is to be given under the form of bread alone.