A federal appeals court has ruled that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's order to limit attendance at places of worship amid rising COVID-19 figures discriminates against religion.

Earlier this year, Cuomo limited religious gatherings in orange and red COVID-19 zones to 25 or 10 people. Some groups like Agudath Israel of America and the Brooklyn Diocese sued, and the Supreme Court said the limits were unconstitutional. The decision was challenged and on Monday, a federal appeals court upheld that decision, saying the per-person limits were not legal.

During the pandemic, Marta Waters rarely missed going to St. Agnes Cathedral to pray. She says she was puzzled why New York would want to restrict religious gatherings to very small numbers if the church was in a COVID-19 hot zone.

"If we are able to go into Costco and BJ's and there are no limits, I don't see why we couldn't come here," says Waters.

Attorneys for Cuomo said the limitations were to slow the spread of COVID-19. The governor's office did not provide a comment to News 12.

And while some religious leaders have called the decision a win, others say there needs to be a balance between religion and public safety.

"We welcome a decision that celebrates religious freedom," says Rabbi Joel Levenson, of Midway Jewish Center. "At the same time, we are living still in the midst of a pandemic."

Some parishioners say they believe the governor's per-person limits weren't really thought through carefully enough, especially when it came to very large spaces.