Due to the unrest and war climate in the Middle East, the greatest concern of Christian Orthodoxy and the Jerusalem Patriarchate is how the celebration of Easter will take place on Sunday, April 12. The latter issued an announcement regarding the operational procedures. According to the Patriarchate, no faithful will be allowed outside the churches to ensure their safety, however the religious services will proceed normally. The Patriarchate’s priority is maintaining the Christian presence, securing the Holy Sites, and preserving religious rights.
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Jerusalem Patriarchate statement on Easter
For the third consecutive year, during times when human suffering greatly burdens the Holy Sites, the Jerusalem Patriarchate reaffirms its commitment to its spiritual and historical mission, grounded in maintaining the Christian presence, preserving the sanctity of its religious ceremonies, and protecting the existing status quo, which constitutes a stable guarantee of freedom of worship and continued Christian witness in this blessed land. In this context, the Patriarchate emphasizes that its dedication and efforts to ensure the performance of religious services at the Holy Sites and at their designated times, despite difficult conditions, aim to preserve our rights and this historical order, as well as protect this historical order from any violation.
The Patriarchate, sympathizing with the residents of Gaza and sharing in their pain, which violates human dignity and the right to life, considers that the repeated attacks by settlers against civilians and their properties in the West Bank constitute an extension of this human suffering, which strikes our Holy Sites at multiple points. The Patriarchate notes that the closure of Al-Aqsa and the prevention of faithful from praying there, under current conditions, affects religious life and humanity’s spiritual connection with its sacred places.
In such tribulations and circumstances, the Jerusalem Patriarchate recalls the words of the Apostle Paul: “if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:17), with the conviction that pain, however intense, does not extinguish the light of hope in the souls of the faithful, but calls them to steadfastness of faith and protection of human life, entrusted to us as a divine gift.
Undertaking this spiritual responsibility and as guardian of Christian shrines and protector of pilgrimage routes to the Holy Sites, the Patriarchate announces the continuation of its commitment to preserving its religious heritage, and arranges the ceremonies beginning from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday to be exclusively restricted to religious services within the churches due to the seriousness and difficulty of this period, respecting human suffering and preserving the sanctity of these blessed days.
The Patriarchate also confirms its unwavering dedication to the comprehensive preservation of the Pilgrimage Status Quo, both historically and legally, ensuring protection of the Holy Sites and preservation of established religious rights.
We raise our prayers, together with our flock and our youth wherever they may be, so that just peace may prevail in our land, that the dignity of every person be preserved, and that Jerusalem, as its name indicates as a city of faith, love and peace, may remain truly a living beacon of faith, hope and love.
