Fasting on Good Friday is set to take a whole new meaning for the followers of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church In Kerala. The church has urged the faithful to go offline tomorrow and observe a ‘Cyber Fast’.

The church-goers have also been asked to shun gadgets like smartphones, tablets etc. The move is aimed to dissuade faithful from the negative use of cyber media and mobile telephony, says the Church.

The 24-hour long fast, a first of its kind, will be observed from 6pm on Thursday. It is part of the year-long Nervazhi (The Right Path) programme of the church to discourage excessive cyber dependence among followers.

The ‘cyber fast’ has been tagged to the Christian practice of Lent, a 50-day period before Easter Sunday, during which the faithful avoid non-vegetarian food and liquor. The PRO of the church told the Indian Orthodox Herald:

Our effort is to discourage the faithful from becoming addict. We normally observe Lent skipping non-veg food and fasting during Easter. On the day, members of the church should stay away from watching TV or using internet, cell phone and social media like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.

-–E C Elias PRO, Malankara Orthodox Church

The church believes that cyber fast is an innovative idea. It hopes that young followers will reciprocate positively to the call.