BENDIGO'S religious leaders say Christmas services will be almost like normal thanks to lighter COVID-19 restrictions.
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Premier Daniel Andrews announced from Monday, there would be no cap on the number of people who could attend weddings, funerals, or religious gatherings.
But Mr Andrews said the venue capacity would have to be limited to one person per two square metres.
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Anglican Diocese of Bendigo Bishop Matt Brain welcomed the changes.
"We're really glad that it's in line with other places," he said. "We're thrilled that we have the opportunity to welcome many more people into our churches."
Indoor religious services were capped at 20 people plus a faith leader in late October. That was then increased to 150 people indoors last month.
Catholic Bishop of Sandhurst Shane Mackinlay said the changes have moved quickly in the past six weeks.
"We were always very respectful and supportive of the decision on restrictions by the health services," he said.
"Where we were having trouble was the disparity between restrictions for venues and restrictions for religious gatherings, but the government listened to those concerns.
"Now people are so delighted to be able to come together and participate in church services but also to do many other things. It's been a remarkable six weeks."
Bishop Brain said this final change would make a difference at Christmas.
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"Individual churches will be making their own calls to ensure their facilities are cleaned and social distancing is enforced," he said.
"But practically, if people want to come to church they will be free to do so."
Bishop Mackinlay said more information on the region's Catholic services would come in the next week.
"It will be fairly normal for the most part," he said. "There might be smaller churches that decide to have services outdoors rather than indoors because of the floor space.
"But a number of our smaller churches tend to have the Christmas services outdoors because the churches are not big enough."
Bishop Mackinlay thanked the community for continuing to connect with their faith during the COVID-19 pandemic, even when they couldn't gather together face-to-face.
He said people still needed to find ways to connect.
"It's important that we are mindful that there are people who are going to continue to feel cautious and vulnerable and less comfortable moving to larger gatherings," Bishop Mackinlay said.
"It's really important to find ways to keep in contact with them if they're not yet in a position to join a large gathering."
Bishop Brain said the Anglican diocese would continue to offer virtual services for the foreseeable future - including one on Christmas Day.
"It's been something that we have been really glad to provide," he said.
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