As investigations behind the Easter Sunday bombings continue, churches in Sri Lanka are deliberating over whether to hold services this coming weekend.

On Thursday (April 25, 2019), the Catholic Church instructed its churches to stay closed and suspend services until further notice, under the advice of security forces, a priest told AFP.

Fr Edmond Tillekeratne, the media director of the Archdiocese of Colombo, told CNN that all Catholic services across the capital city, Colombo, have been suspended until April 29 due to security concerns.

A spokesperson from the office of the Anglican Bishop of Colombo told Salt&Light that it is up to individual churches to decide whether to cancel their upcoming services. They should also follow instructions from the police if advised to hold off any further events. 

A pastor at an Assemblies of God church in Colombo, said that they are still deciding whether they will conduct their usual Sunday services. The situation has yet to normalise as new information is still coming in, he said, so they will have to “wait and see”.

Meanwhile, an evangelical church that Salt&Light spoke to says they will carry on with their weekend church activities, a pastor from the church said. They are praying for protection. Security presence surrounding churches and other religious institutions has been heightened since the attacks.

Salt&Light has withheld the identity of the pastors and churches due to concerns over reprisal.

The death toll from the blasts has risen to 359. At least 500 others have been wounded in what has been the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war in 2009.

Close to 60 people have been arrested so far in connection with the suicide bombings.

The Anglican diocese spokesperson added that the Church has sent several volunteers to work with Caritas on the relief front. The Catholic population makes up the majority of Christians in Sri Lanka.

As concerns over a Muslim backlash build, the diocese is also calling on all Sri Lankans to maintain inter-religious harmony and to treat all communities “with understanding, love and concern”.