Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada | Facebook/Trinity Bible Chapel
A judge in Ontario, Canada, has allowed authorities to temporarily lock the doors of a church that has refused to follow provincial restrictions on gatherings aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
The attorney general’s office for Ontario had police lock the doors of Trinity Bible Chapel of Waterloo through next Saturday to prevent in-person worship services.
The move came as part of a temporary injunction against the chapel in which Justice John Krawchenko concluded that closing the church was a matter of public safety.
“The risk of irreparable harm would be too great to ignore,” said Krawchenko, as reported by the CTV News. “The only way to ensure compliance is to lock the doors to the building, but not to their ministry.”
KITCHENER The doors at Trinity Bible Chapel will stay locked for the time being, a judge decided on Thursday. Last week, a judge granted a temporary injunction locking the doors for the weekend to prevent in-person services on Sunday. That order has now been extended until either a sanction hearing is held at a later date or restrictions on gatherings are increased by the province to 30 per cent capacity. It is clear there are no changes to the circumstances of the pandemic, Justice John Krawchenko said when he extended the order. The respondents conceded no middle ground. During the hearing, a representative from Ontario s Ministry of the Attorney General argued the pandemic and provincial restrictions have not changed since last week, telling the judge that leaders at Trinity are not willing to meet any capacity limits.
KITCHENER Representatives from the Attorney General s office and Trinity Bible Chapel are expected to return to court this week. On Friday afternoon, a judge granted a temporary injunction ordering the sheriff to lock the church s doors to prevent in-person gatherings from happening over the weekend. In court documents, the Ministry of the Attorney General said the past actions of the leaders of the church left it with no other option than to request the doors be locked, adding it s a matter of public health and the court can t stand by while its orders are flagrantly breached. Under current lockdown orders, religious services are capped at 10 people indoors and outdoors.
KITCHENER Last week, a judge granted a temporary injunction to lock the doors at Trinity Bible Chapel. The church itself, church elders and people who attended services have all faced charges over the past few months following in-person services exceeding provincial limits. Under the current stay-at-home order, religious services are capped at 10 people indoors and outdoors. The church shifted to drive-in services following charges at the end of December and beginning of January. However, they reopened for in-person services in February and also held services above the provincial limit throughout the month of April. Here s a look at what s happened at the church over the past few months:
05-04-2021
Image Source: Twitter Screenshot/Trinity Bible Chapel
The battle between a Canadian church and the government has escalated as congregants fight for their right to worship in person, even after authorities locked the sanctuary doors last week.
Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo tweeted on Saturday, Our building is now completely locked up and we are unable to use it to even record a sermon.
This is the collection of police, bylaw, news media, and a locksmith that all showed up for the locking of our doors. pic.twitter.com/ECgW4RqvuB
The Attorney General s office requested that law enforcement lock the church doors on Friday afternoon, CTV News reports.