ATHENS: Thousands of Greeks returned to church on Sunday (May 17) after weeks of staying away as a ban on mass gatherings to curb the spread of the COVID-19 was eased.

It was a special moment for those who gathered from early Sunday morning in the courtyard of Ayios Spiridonas Church in Piraeus, where the melodious chants of the Sunday liturgy were broadcast on loudspeakers and heard down to the sea port.