logo
Quraye's Good Friday tradition: An Easter reenactment in a Lebanese village

Quraye's Good Friday tradition: An Easter reenactment in a Lebanese village

Nahar Net21-04-2025
by Naharnet Newsdesk 21 April 2025, 12:26
It's become a Good Friday tradition in Quraye: residents and visitors converging on the southern Lebanese village to witness a portrayal by some Christians there of Jesus' suffering and crucifixion.
On Friday, Charbel Joseph Antoun, 37, played the role of Jesus.
Wearing a crown that was thorny on the outside, he lugged a wooden cross while getting flogged. At one point, Antoun's arms were tied with ropes to the cross, which was then hoisted up.
Spectators walked behind the procession; others peered down from balconies. At times, many looked touched by the scenes.
"What's more beautiful than representing the final period of Jesus' life on earth ... and of feeling, even a little bit, of the pain he's felt?" Antoun told The Associated Press on the eve of the reenactment of the Way of the Cross. "What's more beautiful than all of us gathering together?"
This year, Christians in Lebanon are observing Holy Week and celebrating Easter after a November ceasefire halted more than a year of the latest Israel-Hezbollah fighting, providing the country with some respite though not a complete end to hostilities.
Since the ceasefire, Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes that have killed scores of civilians and members of the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group. Israel has said that its strikes in Lebanon are in response to ceasefire violations by Hezbollah and to prevent the group from rearming. Hezbollah started launching attacks on Israel a day after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Palestinian militants' attack on southern Israel.
Even before the fighting, Lebanon was embroiled in a series of economic and other crises.
"People vent during these celebrations," said the Rev. Tony Chalhoub of the Maronite church of St. George in Quraye. "They're trying to live as much as possible."
Many Lebanese, he said, have had to grow accustomed to coping with wars. "When Israel strikes, the people get scared in the moment and then carry on with their business," he said.
This year, Chalhoub said, he's seeing "a look of hope" and more smiles from people, before adding: "I don't know if they will be disappointed later."
On Thursday, in a ritual symbolizing humility, Chalhoub washed the feet of a dozen boys at the church.
The ritual recalls the foot-washing Jesus performed on his 12 apostles at their Last Supper together before he would be taken away to be crucified.
Chalhoub said he doesn't participate in the Friday reenactment, which he said has become entrenched in Quraye. On social media, he added, it often draws mixed reactions, with some criticizing aspects of it as "backward."
Antoun said scenes like the hoisting of the cross and the flogging are done in a calculated and "professional" manner. "We do this out of a good heart," he said.
Michel Badr, who came from another village to attend the reenactment, said he supports the performance "so that people would know, even if in a small way, how much Jesus had suffered ... to give us a new era and a beautiful life after him."
Chalhoub said his concern is to avoid an overemphasis on mourning. "It's better to turn the pain into glory and to triumph over pain with God's power, not just to go and cry," he said.
"There's redemption. There's salvation," Chalhoub said. "Of course, there's sadness, but there's huge hope for triumphing over all that is painful."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Facing the 'targeting' of its community, Hezbollah advocates internal unity
Facing the 'targeting' of its community, Hezbollah advocates internal unity

L'Orient-Le Jour

time23 minutes ago

  • L'Orient-Le Jour

Facing the 'targeting' of its community, Hezbollah advocates internal unity

In these tense times in the region, many observers have recalled that in a recent speech, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem warned of an 'existential threat against the resistance, its popular environment, its supporters, as well as against Lebanon and all its components.' At the time, the statement was widely seen as an attempt by Qassem to amplify the perceived threat to Hezbollah and its support base, as a means of justifying the group's continued possession of weapons. But in light of recent events in Sweida, those remarks have taken on new meaning. According to several Shiite figures, the United States is now backing the region's main community — the Sunnis — at the expense of minorities. One such figure said Israeli conduct during last year's war with Hezbollah indicates the entire Shiite community, not just Hezbollah supporters, is being targeted. He cited the harassment and targeting of Shiites not only in southern villages and Beirut, but also in Kesrouan, Jbeil, and even Zgharta, arguing that Israel appears intent on pushing the entire Shiite community out of southern Lebanon — not just Hezbollah operatives. These fears have deepened since regime change in Syria brought to power a president from the Sunni community, particularly its Islamist wing. Among the Shiite community in Lebanon — and Hezbollah in particular — there is now a growing sense of persecution when it comes to Syria, especially following sectarian violence against Alawites along Syria's coast, attacks on Christian holy sites and recent fighting targeting the Druze in Sweida. While the various developments in Syria may not be directly linked, Shiite figures say they are watching closely the shifts happening in Lebanon's Sunni community. In the months after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack and Hezbollah's decision to open a support front in southern Lebanon, many Sunnis were reportedly supportive of Hezbollah's stance. But since Ahmad al-Sharaa came to power in Damascus, this mood has shifted, and many Sunnis have reverted to a more traditionally hostile stance toward Hezbollah, the source said. In this context, Saudi Arabia has begun taking a more active role in Lebanon — particularly in support of the Sunni community, which has felt politically abandoned since the de facto political exit of its former leader, Future Movement chief Saad Hariri. For nearly eight months — since just before the Jan. 9, 2025, presidential election — Saudi Arabia has sent multiple delegations to Lebanon, including a special envoy, Prince Yazid bin Farhan. Riyadh also encouraged Grand Mufti Abdellatif Derian to visit Syria at the head of a large delegation and facilitated a meeting between the Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers in Jeddah to address bilateral tensions. According to the same Shiite figures, these moves are part of a broader American strategy. The U.S., they say, is now placing its bets on the Sunni communities in Lebanon, Syria, and possibly even Iraq to shift the regional balance and reduce hostility toward Israel. They believe Washington has already tried to court the region's minorities — from Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, to the Alawite regime in Syria (with Secretary of State Colin Powell making overtures to Bashar al-Assad in 2003), to Lebanon's Christians — without success. Now, the U.S. is once again betting on the Sunnis and is using all tools at its disposal to encourage normalization with Israel. All of these developments have led some in the Shiite community to fear that they are being collectively targeted. Hezbollah, for its part, remains convinced that the ultimate U.S.-Israeli goal is to bring down the Iranian regime, thereby depriving Shiites of the only state capable of supporting them. Still, sources close to Hezbollah deny that the party harbors any offensive intentions. On the contrary, they say, Hezbollah is working to reinforce internal peace, primarily to protect its own community, which, in their view, has no choice but to draw closer to other communities in Lebanese society.

Is a 'missing Hezbollah fighter' in an Israeli prison?
Is a 'missing Hezbollah fighter' in an Israeli prison?

L'Orient-Le Jour

time23 minutes ago

  • L'Orient-Le Jour

Is a 'missing Hezbollah fighter' in an Israeli prison?

On July 21, Israel's public broadcaster Kan aired a report about Ayalon Prison, featuring neon-lit corridors, guards in bulletproof vests, and inmates in brown uniforms either lying on the floor or being dragged by prison staff. The footage included scenes from a new wing called 'Rakevet,' which the channel said holds 'the worst terrorists from Hamas and Hezbollah' and linked them to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on prisoner in the report caught the attention of a Lebanese social media user. Though the man's face is not visible, Zeinab Saleh, identifying herself as his wife, claimed in a Facebook post Wednesday that he is Mahdi Saleh, a Hezbollah fighter who went missing on Oct. 26, 2024. According to her, Hezbollah declared him a 'martyr without a body' about a month ago. Her post was shared widely and picked up by media...

France to contribute $88 million to reconstruction in Lebanon
France to contribute $88 million to reconstruction in Lebanon

L'Orient-Le Jour

time23 minutes ago

  • L'Orient-Le Jour

France to contribute $88 million to reconstruction in Lebanon

French President Emmanuel Macron informed Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that France will contribute €75 million (about $88.16 million) to the Lebanon Emergency Aid Project (LEAP), launched by the World Bank to support reconstruction following last autumn's war between Hezbollah and Israel. During Salam's first visit to Paris since taking office, Macron stressed the need to pursue reforms to organize an international donor conference and mobilize further reconstruction aid. In early June, Lebanon secured a $250 million World Bank loan and, with U.N. agencies, launched projects totaling more than $350 million, focused on the South. Villages in the South, the Bekaa, and Beirut's southern suburbs were partially or fully destroyed by Israeli attacks. The World Bank estimates war-related damage in Lebanon at $11 billion, covering the period from Oct. 8, 2023, to Dec. 20, 2024. UNIFIL, Israeli violations, and army support According to a statement from the Grand Serail on Friday, both sides emphasized the need to renew the U.N. peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL) mandate — due for a Security Council vote in the coming weeks — and to reinforce cease-fire monitoring. Macron and Salam reaffirmed the need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and an end to cease-fire violations. They also backed strengthening the Lebanese Army to ensure it alone holds authority on the ground. On judicial reform, Macron expressed readiness to offer technical and financial support, including sending a French expert to the Justice Ministry and launching a partnership between France's National School for the Judiciary and Lebanon's Institute of Judicial Studies. Lebanese-Syrian border As security concerns along the Lebanese-Syrian border grow, France reiterated its willingness to support border control cooperation between Beirut and Damascus. This includes offering technical assistance for border demarcation, based on France's historical archives. Earlier this week, Lebanese and Syrian military intelligence chiefs met in Riyadh amid rising tensions on the border. The area has seen recent clashes — in February and March — between clans reportedly close to Hezbollah and newly formed Syrian security units. Several parts of the 330-kilometer border remain undemarcated, fueling smuggling and recurring conflicts in areas like Hosh al-Sayyed Ali.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store