Easter celebrated in Jerusalem
Sunday April 04, 2010
Source: Reuters
Worshippers hold candles as they take part in the Christian Orthodox Holy
Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old city
Bells, drums, ecstatic chants and flaming candles lit from the tomb of Jesus
brought Easter to a joyful climax in Jerusalem on Saturday for Palestinians
and thousands of Orthodox Christian pilgrims from around the world.
Sectarian tensions were, as ever, in evidence at the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre for the ceremony of the Holy Fire, which symbolises the
resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross. But, under a heavy
Israeli police presence, there was none of the factional violence that has
seen rival clergy trade punches – and even a stabbing – in the past few
years.
A mass influx of Russian and other visitors from the former Soviet bloc, and
the absence of many Palestinians denied permits from Israel to enter the Old
City, confirmed the changing face of Christian rites in Jerusalem since the
fall of Communism.
The coincidence of the Easter calendars of the Eastern and Western churches
has prompted ecumenical gatherings during Holy Week, notably among the
dwindling Christian communities in the West Bank, where Israeli occupation
and more militant Islam have fostered emigration in recent years, local
church figures said.
Roman Catholics and Protestants, however, eschew the Holy Fire rite; Western
visitors have for centuries scoffed at the ceremony in which the Greek
Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem produces a lighted candle from the sealed
and empty tomb – without the aid of matches or other, visible, terrestrial
aids.
At times, terrible stampedes have left worshippers injured or even killed.
Several hundred died in a crush in 1834.
For thousands of locals and foreigners packed in the many corners of the
ancient church around the ornate stone tomb on the traditional site of the
crucifixion and resurrection, the ritual progressed much as it is must have
done for a millennium
For hours, competing chants, singing and processions marked out areas of the
church dominated by the Greek Orthodox and the Armenians, congregations
which, with Roman Catholics, have the main rights to the Holy Sepulchre
through an arrangement drafted under 19th century Ottoman Turkish rulers
anxious for calm.
Colourful, noisy groups from other denominations, including Copts from Egypt
and Syrian Orthodox, added to the throng.
A couple of dozen teenagers in uniform red T-shirts from one church group,
Roman Catholic monks observing with detachment from the upper balconies, and
a preponderance of heavy-set young men in clerical garb at the forefront of
the main Greek and Armenian delegations lent an air of sporting competition.
But fears of a showdown between the two denominations, whose clergy engaged
in a widely televised bout of fisticuffs inside the church less than 18
months ago, proved unfounded.
The Greek patriarch and a senior Armenian cleric both emerged from the tomb
bearing the holy fire for their followers.
In seconds, light spread around the darkened chapels as the delighted
faithful lit one bunch of candles from flaming others.
"This is the greatest joy of my life," said 64-year-old Suhair Amin, who had
travelled two days by bus from Egypt and said many of her Coptic fellows
were denied entry to the church.
Competition for places has become particularly intense with Israel’s opening
of visa-free travel for Russians, tens of millions of whom have embraced the
Orthodox Christianity long frozen out under Communism. One Russian attending
on Saturday said he had paid $700 for a pass given by one denomination.
Asked whether it was worth it, as the candle flames raced around the church,
he was speechless, simply beaming in reply.
Members of smaller but hitherto influential denominations in Jerusalem, like
the Greeks and Armenians, are wary of the surge in numbers and money coming
from Russia – and of Israel’s potential to use its control as a diplomatic
bargaining chip with Moscow, at the expense of smaller churches.