Vice President Mike Pence says he supports a Virginia church in its legal battle against the governor for restrictions against houses of worship.

A Virginia church is in a legal battle against the governor for impost restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis, and Vice President Mike Pence is supporting them.

The pastor of Lighthouse Fellowship Church of Chincoteague was issued a criminal citation for holding a 16-person church service on Palm Sunday inside a 225-seat sanctuary. The church is suing the state in federal court. Each attendee reportedly sat at least six feet apart and followed health guidelines.

Orders by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam restrict mass gatherings to 10 people during the coronavirus pandemic and has so for over a month.

Pence said he backs a Department of Justice Statement of Interest urging the court to issue an injunction favoring the church. He and the Department “strongly agree” that “even in the midst of a national emergency, every American enjoys our cherished liberties, including the freedom of religion.”

“And the very idea that the Commonwealth of Virginia would sanction a church for having 16 people come to a Psalm Sunday service when … the church actually seats about 250 was just beyond the pale,” Pence told The Brian Kilmeade Show. “And I’m truly grateful for Attorney General [William] Barr standing by religious liberty.”

The Trump administration, Pence said, will “stand by men and women of faith of every religion in this country and…even in this challenging time, [will] protect their freedom of religion.”

The church in Chincoteague isn’t the only one that is hopeful that Northam will make some more changes. Nearly 200 pastors have signed a letter to the governor asking him to modify his orders. They wish for churches to allow, at minimum, weekly gatherings by religious organizations, “provided reasonable public-health precautions are taken.”

Many churches are already looking at what they can do to help slow the spread, like disinfecting hard surfaces, abstaining from physical contact, providing sanitizer to attendees, requiring six feet of distance between individuals, encouraging the sick and vulnerable to stay home, and closing nurseries and Sunday School classes. This “would fulfill the Executive Orders’ goal of protecting public health while also permitting us to satisfy our religious obligations and serve the spiritual needs of our communities,” the letter says.

“These gatherings are one of the means God uses to heal and restore our souls – they are part of God’s treatment plan for the spiritually sick,” the letter reads. “The longer the government bars Christians from meeting, the more damage is done to the spiritual well-being of Virginians in need of spiritual care during this difficult time.

“Because corporate worship is central to the Christian life, it is extraordinary for churches to forego meeting for even a single Sunday,” the letter says. “Thus, with each passing week that corporate worship is banned, as churches stand ready to implement reasonable public-health precautions, the government pushes Christians closer to the point where they must choose to sin against God and conscience or violate the law.”

The letter sent earlier this week comes right before Northam gave his phase one reopening plan for the state which went into effect on Friday, May 15th. He mentioned that places of worship will be able to have services with a 50% indoor capacity.