Christians hold Easter rally in Kolkata
Despite the pandemic, various Christian denominations come together again as a sign of hope for the whole city. For Archbishop Thomas D'Souza, “we should not be in despair nor give up.”
Kolkata (AsiaNews) – Christians from various denominations and from all over the city took part in the Easter rally, which was held on the evening of Easter Sunday.
The initiative, which brought together about 1,100 people, is now a tradition in Kolkata. It began 10 years ago, but was not held last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The rally began at Bishop's College and culminated in a thanksgiving ceremony in the garden of St James' School, attended by Catholics, Anglicans (Church of North India), Baptists and Pentecostals ( Assembly of God).
The meeting was announced last month in a joint letter sent to the various communities by Anglican Bishop Paritosh Canning, Catholic Archbishop Thomas D'Souza, Rev Ivan Satyavrata, head of the Assembly of God Church, and Sudip Biswas, head of the Bengal Baptist Union.
“A year ago we faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the churches were closed but our faith sustained us. This year churches have opened. For Easter, the message is one of hope and peace,” said Archbishop D’Souza.
“Love brings unity and peace,” he explained, “it destroys hatred and even in hopelessness we should not be in despair nor give up. We must live as good Christians and good citizens.”
“The rally brought together different Christian organisations at a time when there is so much turmoil in society.” For this reason, “we have to be united,” said John Gosh, secretary of the Diocese of Kolkata of the Church of North India.
Dominican Father Dominic Gomes, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Calcutta, agrees. “We have been doing this procession as something to unite Christians from different denominations. The message is that we need to be positive and hopeful,” he said.
“This is an ecumenical rally where various Christian denominations come together to spend time in prayer, worship, listening to God’s Word,” said Archbishop D’Souza.
“Every year, we had big crowds, but this year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of participants was limited,” the prelate noted. Still, celebrating “the Easter message is relevant for today’s world, where we have so much hatred and violence in the world and even in some parts of the country.”
For the archbishop of Calcutta, Easter teaches that hatred is defeated by love thanks to the peace of Christ. “Where people are in despair, either due to pandemic, other situations, or anxiety, the Risen Lord, comes and brings hope,” he explained. “Christ continues to live in and through us and we must be his witnesses. Our Faith must be lived in our daily lives.”
Speaking about for fraternity among Church leaders in Kolkata, Mgr D'Souza describes relations as cordial. “We used to meet regularly, but this was not possible during the pandemic.” However, “we feel we need to see each other more often and this Easter rally was a good opportunity.”
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