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dpa
Tel Aviv
Christians from around the world have attended Easter Mass in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, considered the holiest place in Christianity.
The traditional Easter Mass on Sunday morning was led by Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The celebrations on the site where Jesus died and rose again, according to Christian belief, were overshadowed by clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at nearby Temple Mount, which is sacred for Jews and Muslims alike.
For the first time in three years, tourists and pilgrims were able to enter the area for Easter, after Israel closed its borders to visitors from abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Tourism Ministry expected a total of 30,000 foreign tourists this week alone, as Jews are also celebrating the holiday of Passover while Muslims are marking the fasting month of Ramadan.
In his Easter homily, Pizzaballa reminded worshippers of “all the situations of death that surround us.”
“Let us think of the terrible conditions in which many people of the world find themselves today, whether in the Holy Land, in the Ukraine, in Yemen, in some countries of Africa and Asia,” he said.
He also recalled those lost during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Resurrection meant “the announcement of a new joy,” the archbishop said, which “must today reach everyone, everywhere in the world, in every corner of the earth.”
“Let us not allow death and its subjects to frighten us,” Pizzaballa said.
Christians are a minority in Israel, accounting for only about 2% of the population of 9.4 million.
Tel Aviv
Christians from around the world have attended Easter Mass in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, considered the holiest place in Christianity.
The traditional Easter Mass on Sunday morning was led by Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The celebrations on the site where Jesus died and rose again, according to Christian belief, were overshadowed by clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at nearby Temple Mount, which is sacred for Jews and Muslims alike.
For the first time in three years, tourists and pilgrims were able to enter the area for Easter, after Israel closed its borders to visitors from abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Tourism Ministry expected a total of 30,000 foreign tourists this week alone, as Jews are also celebrating the holiday of Passover while Muslims are marking the fasting month of Ramadan.
In his Easter homily, Pizzaballa reminded worshippers of “all the situations of death that surround us.”
“Let us think of the terrible conditions in which many people of the world find themselves today, whether in the Holy Land, in the Ukraine, in Yemen, in some countries of Africa and Asia,” he said.
He also recalled those lost during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Resurrection meant “the announcement of a new joy,” the archbishop said, which “must today reach everyone, everywhere in the world, in every corner of the earth.”
“Let us not allow death and its subjects to frighten us,” Pizzaballa said.
Christians are a minority in Israel, accounting for only about 2% of the population of 9.4 million.
