Cathedral Good Friday service broadcast on ABC TV Australia-wide
News
For the first time in many years, a Holy Week service at St John’s Cathedral will be broadcast to a national audience on ABC Television
The Anglican Church will return to ABC Television with the Good Friday Liturgy of the Day at St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane to be broadcast on the main ABC TV channel tomorrow at 4 pm.
The service will be presided over by Brisbane Archbishop The Most Rev’d Dr Phillip Aspinall, along with The Very Rev’d Dr Dean Peter Catt and The Rev’d Dr Ann Solari, with music provided by Cathedral organist Andrej Kouznetsov and a small choir. The prescribed social distancing measures will be observed.
Archbishop Aspinall said he was delighted that the ABC had agreed to provide a free-to-air broadcast of the Good Friday service to a national audience during Holy Week.
“With our church doors closed to congregations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this Easter is certainly the most challenging Easter and worship period that Christians in Australia will have faced in a very long time,” the Archbishop said.
“We have had to adapt very quickly to the constraints on people’s movement and church attendance that have been a necessary part of limiting the spread of the coronavirus.
“We have been live streaming and recording church services for the past fortnight in many of our churches, including St John’s Cathedral. We hope the ABC’s broadcast of the Good Friday liturgy will provide some comfort and relief to people who wish to worship and reflect during what is a very unusual Easter.”
Mr Joe Gelonesi, ABC Manager Religion & Ethics, said programs about devotion and the search for meaning were more important than ever.
“With so many Australians unable to attend the traditional services of Christian Holy Week, the ABC is proud to provide connection and comfort through this challenging time as part of our evolving offer to people of all faiths,” Mr Gelonesi said.
“We are committed to keeping Australians informed and entertained, no matter what they believe. Beyond Easter, the ABC is looking at ways to bring ongoing religious services to Australians impacted by COVID-19, in addition to our rich weekly slate of religion and ethics content on television, radio and online.”
The ABC will also upload the St John’s Good Friday service to its iView streaming service for future viewing.
The service will also be live streamed at midday on the St John’s YouTube channel. As well, approximately 40 parishes in the Diocese are offering Easter services via some form of online media, either by livestreaming via YouTube, Facebook or Zoom or the recording of services.
Editor’s note: The Good Friday broadcast attracted a significant national viewing audience of over 60,000. The service has been uploaded to the ABC’s iview platform (free) and can be viewed here until 10 May 2020.
Jump to next article
