Holy Fire rite has traditionally attracted about 10,000 Christian worshippers but numbers have been limited in recent years
Thousands of Christians in Jerusalem have celebrated the traditional Holy Fire rite ahead of the OrthodoxThe ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the thousand-year-old rite takes place, was built over the site where Christian tradition says Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected.
Thousands of Palestinian worshippers and foreign pilgrims also gathered in the square outside the church, in adjacent streets and outside the walls of the Old City on Saturday. Theophilus III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, emerged shortly before 3pm local time on Saturday, bearing two bundles of lighted candles. Cries of joy, cheers and singing broke out as the flame was passed between believers.in a crowd crush at a Jewish religious gathering in 2021.Ahmad Tibi, an Arab-Israeli member of parliament, said on Saturday: “All Palestinians in East Jerusalem, Muslims and Christians, are suffering from the occupation.
This year’s ceremony also comes after deadly attacks and clashes in Israel, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, as well as ongoing protests against a controversial government judicial overhaul.
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