Jerusalem prepares to celebrate another Easter amid war with Hamas

Christians in Jerusalem readied themselves to mark another Easter as Israel continues to fight the terror group Hamas across the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities still drafted special permits to allow nearly 10,000 West Bank Palestinian Christians into Jerusalem to celebrate Holy Week, the Israeli Embassy told the Vatican. Vatican News estimated that about 50,000 West Bank residents would like to celebrate Holy Week in Jerusalem, though only about 20% could actually enter the city. Despite the war, Orthodox Christian traditions continued in Jerusalem as crowds gathered on Holy Thursday for the annual washing of the feet ceremony ahead of Good Friday.

What did the foot washing ceremony consist of? A large congregation gathered at the Cathedral of Saint James before the ceremony for the Divine Liturgy with chanting in Greek and Arabic. After the Divine Liturgy was dismissed, bells rang from the church commencing the foot washing ceremony nearby at the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be the site of Jesus’ burial and resurrection. Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III washed the feet of 12 hieromonks and priests to honor the example Christ set before the Last Supper, while Gospel passages describing the Last Supper were read aloud.

What else is happening for Easter in Jerusalem? The morning of Good Friday, people are expected to process from the Praetorium, the place where it’s believed Pontius Pilate judged Jesus, to the crucifixion site, known as the Horrendous Golgotha, for prayers. Following prayers, the patriarch of Jerusalem and other church leaders will offer a liturgical reenactment of Christ’s removal from the cross and burial. Later in the evening, the church honors Epitaph Procession which commemorates the burial procession for Christ with hymns and gospel reading.

On Holy Saturday, the Holy Light ceremony draws thousands of pilgrims from across the world to the Holy Sepulchre for the ceremony. Attendees among the few to be admitted bring candles hoping to receive what believers characterize as the Holy Light, and are said to sing, dance, and chant through the morning. The patriarch of Jerusalem enters a shrine believed to house the tomb of Christ, known as the Holy Aedicule, with two bundles of 33 unlit candles and kneels on the rock within the tomb in prayer. When he emerges some time later, the candles appear lit—some believe miraculously—and the candlelight is spread through the crowd.