There are always charlatans waiting to exploit the spiritually thirsty, and a healthy scrutiny is warranted for every digital space, but here's where some of the faithful are finding each other online right now. Prayers in ones and zeroes - the alphas and omegas - merge, as believers look for something holy, or at least wholly human, in that shared pool of data. Discordant hymns, fragmented by sagging stretches of utility wire, bounce their blessings across servers in dark rooms to gather in a unified electronic stream.

More broadly, global coronavirus quarantines have meant staking out parcels of online space to define a new, more mutable sense of congregation. Online offerings are becoming crucial as churches look for ways to bolster digital tithes, minister to the isolated, and manage the flock from afar.

But in the face of pandemic, communities of faith around the world are now ramping up the online infrastructure they've been slowly building toward for years. Peering into the glowing screen of your laptop, you can't smell the incense from a thurible.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

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