Grace Baptist Church attenders in Aberdeen, Scotland. (Grace Baptist Church Aberdeen/Facebook)
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Nearly 30 church leaders in Scotland are suing the government and asking for a review to be performed by the courts on pandemic lockdowns restricting churches.
It is a criminal offense in the highest tiers for churches to hold services in-person in Scotland, the Christian Post reports.
Church leaders say in their claim that lockdown restrictions have led to the criminalization of public worship. This, they say, violates Articles nine and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Scottish Constitution.
The 27 church leaders sent a letter last month to Scottish Ministers after new lockdown orders took effect in Scotland a week into the new year.
St. John s Episcopal Church, Edinburgh, Scotland, July 9, 2010. | (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Kim Traynor)
More than two dozen church leaders in Scotland have joined legal proceedings against the Scottish government, demanding a judicial review of tighter pandemic lockdown measures that have closed churches for in-person services and “criminalize[ed] public worship.”
The church leaders argue in a claim for judicial review that the coronavirus regulations imposed by the Scottish government this month “are in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights [Articles 9 and 11] and the Scottish Constitution,” according to a statement issued by the London-based Christian Legal Centre.
The claim is filed by 27 church leaders, including those from the Free Church of Scotland, the Church of Scotland and independent churches.