Ripon cathedral holds socially distanced Palm Sunday service

A cathedral in North Yorkshire has held a Palm Sunday service after coronavirus restrictions were eased.

Ripon Cathedral welcomed a congregation of 50 people and had a small choir of three lay clerks at the socially distanced service.

More people followed the ceremony from their homes by watching a live stream online.

Worshippers were given palm leaves and were met at the door by Canon Michael Gisbourne and a donkey called Lily.

The cathedral's Dean, John Dobson, described having the trio of singers as "a marvellous thing".

"It is wonderful that we'll see at the front, when the procession arrives, lay clerks - only three, we're only allowed three at a time - but we will have lay clerks singing and that's a marvellous thing," he said.

The service is held on the Sunday before Easter and commemorates Jesus's entry into Jerusalem through the laying of palm leaves.

Under previous guidelines in England, only one person was allowed to sing or chant indoors when deemed "essential to an act of worship", or a maximum of three people in "exceptional" circumstances.

For Palm Sunday and Easter celebrations, the size of congregations in England will depend on the space available in the grounds, and religious authorities must carry out a risk assessment to ensure worshippers can be socially distanced.

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