Bendigo's faith communities have expressed differing perspectives on the state government's most recent changes to gathering restrictions, while they acknowledged the challenges they posed on their congregations.
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On Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced that 20 people would be permitted to gather outdoors for religious ceremonies, replacing the limit of 10 people.
Gathering indoors at a place of worship or community facility remains off limits.
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Bishop of Sandhurst Most Reverend Shane Mackinlay said the government's restrictions on indoor gatherings for religious ceremonies "make no sense".
"Why can we go to the pub across from the church, now with up to 70 people outdoors, with our masks off and have contact at close quarters, but can't leave our masks on and be in a controlled, carefully spaced environment at church," Bishop Mackinlay said.
"That logic fails the pub test."
Victoria's four Catholic bishops penned an open letter to Mr Andrews on September 25, citing unfairness and inconsistency in the number of people allowed to gather for religious reasons by comparison to other sectors.
"We remain at the same spot as we were when we wrote that letter, which only came after weeks of talking with the government and health authorities and getting nowhere," Bishop Mackinlay said.
"Until six weeks ago, restrictions pertaining to religious ceremonies were on par with hospitality and I see no reason why that couldn't continue."
"I realise this is a one-of-a-kind pandemic and there are many vulnerable people in the community who may not recover from COVID-19 if they contract it," Dr Neelam said.
About 200 people would attend the most significant Islamic events of the year as part of Eid celebrations.
"I would love to see other members of my faith community, but the health and safety of the community is most important," Dr Neelam said.
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Bendigo's Islamic community has instead resorted to family prayer within the household and occasional virtual gatherings via Zoom.
"We typically have a prayer meeting on Friday, a congregational prayer, one of the biggest gatherings of the week," Dr Neelam said.
"Outdoor gathering is challenging because of the weather and finding a suitable location."
Bishop Mackinlay said an allowance of ten more people at outdoor gatherings makes a difference, but is insufficient to meet demand from parishioners.
"For our bigger parishes, it remains problematic and very, very difficult," he said.
"When so much of our approach to people is to be welcoming and inviting, it's very hard to adopt a practice which says you can't come.
"I know our parishes are finding that very difficult."
The next step of the government's COVID-19 regional roadmap, the Last Step, permits public worship to resume in outdoor and indoor settings, subject to density limits, including up to 50 people outdoors.
Subject to current health advice, the Last Step will start when there are no new cases for 14 days, across Victoria, according to the roadmap.
