FASIKA 2.0 (Easter) - 2019
I was photographing at an Ethiopian Orthodox church in New Westminster, British Columbia Canada during the last 3 weeks of Easter lent at the height of the COVID-19 quarantine in 2020.
My initial purpose for being there was to live stream church mass and other ceremonies because the congregation couldn’t physically attend church as a result of the social distancing measures that were in place.
The Orthodox tewahedo religion is a medium through which Ethiopian Christians get closer to God. The liturgy and rituals have virtually remained unchanged and unaffected by technological advances since the country officially adopted Christianity in the 4th century A.D.
However, when physical presence at the church became impossible because of COVID-19, the church was quick to adopt modern technology in the form of video conferencing tools like Zoom and Facebook. This meant church goers could virtually attend mass from their homes.
It was fascinating to witness the interactions of two mediums ; religion and technology to get a message of hope and deliverance out to the people ; especially during COVID.
