Latest news with #HolyFire
Herald Malaysia
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Israel faces criticism after Vatican diplomat barred from sacred Easter event
Israeli authorities imposed sweeping restrictions on Christian worshippers during Holy Saturday celebrations in Jerusalem, barring thousands from accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, including the Vatican's top envoy to Palestine. Apr 21, 2025 Ethiopian Orthodox Christian pilgrims hold candles during the ceremony of the JERUSALEM: Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, the Apostolic Delegate and Vatican Ambassador to Palestine, was denied entry to the sacred site, drawing strong condemnation from Palestinian Church leaders who described the move as a breach of diplomatic protocols and religious freedom. Security was tight in the Old City, where Israeli police set up multiple checkpoints and conducted identity checks, turning away large numbers of worshippers. The restrictions coincided with the Holy Fire ceremony, a central event in the Orthodox Easter calendar that traditionally draws thousands of local and international pilgrims. Palestinian sources said only 6,000 permits were issued to Christians from the occupied West Bank—far below the estimated 50,000-strong Christian population in the territories. Access for Palestinian Muslims and Christians to Jerusalem has long been tightly controlled, but this year's limitations were seen as particularly severe. The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine said many local Christians, along with foreign pilgrims, were blocked from reaching the church. Human rights groups reported incidents of physical assault and arbitrary arrests of worshippers during the day. Church leaders accused Israeli authorities of turning a deeply spiritual celebration into a militarized event. They warned that continued restrictions on religious access in Jerusalem undermine fundamental rights and escalate tensions in a region already gripped by conflict. Celebrations this year were again subdued, with churches limiting activities to liturgical services. Many Christian communities scaled back public processions due to the ongoing war in Gaza and heightened military presence across the occupied West Bank. Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, more than 950 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank alone, according to local health authorities. In a landmark ruling last year, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and called for the withdrawal of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Despite the barriers, Christian pilgrims continue to make their way to Jerusalem, affirming the enduring significance of the Holy Fire ritual and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion and
Express Tribune
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Thousands of Christians gather at Holy Sepulchre for sacred Holy Fire ceremony
People gather at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the day of the Holy Fire ceremony, in Jerusalem's Old City. PHOTO: REUTERS Listen to article Thousands of Orthodox Christians gathered on Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City to take part in the ancient Holy Fire ceremony, a central Easter tradition believed by many to be a miraculous occurrence. Pilgrims from across the world packed into the 12th-century basilica, which tradition holds is built over the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and burial. In near-total darkness, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch entered the Holy Edicule – the small shrine that houses the traditional site of Christ's tomb – and emerged with two lit candles, said to be miraculously ignited. The flame was then passed from candle to candle, symbolising the triumph of light over darkness, and later flown to Orthodox communities abroad. The ceremony, which dates back at least 1,200 years, remains a powerful visual and spiritual spectacle. However, its authenticity has long been questioned by sceptics, who have dismissed the event as a staged ritual. Regardless of belief, the ceremony continues to draw large crowds and carry deep significance. The ritual has a troubled history. In 1834, a stampede during the ceremony killed around 400 pilgrims, prompting tighter crowd controls in recent years. Citing safety concerns, Israeli authorities have imposed limits on attendance, sparking criticism from church leaders who say such actions disrupt the fragile, centuries-old status quo governing Jerusalem's holy sites. This year, a visible and heavy security presence greeted worshippers as they passed through multiple Israeli checkpoints. 'The number of police is higher than the number of pilgrims,' said Adeeb Joude, a custodian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Many attendees said the turnout was smaller than in previous years, largely due to Israel's ongoing 18-month military campaign in Gaza, which has weighed heavily on the local Christian community—many of whom are Palestinian. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is located in East Jerusalem's Old City, an area captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed in a move not recognised by most of the international community. The Old City is home to several of the world's most revered religious sites and has long been a flashpoint of tension among Jews, Christians, and Muslims, as well as between various Christian denominations. While Israel maintains it protects freedom of worship, relations with the Christian community have become strained in recent years. Many Palestinian Christians have emigrated due to political instability and social pressures, leaving a dwindling population to uphold centuries-old traditions like the Holy Fire. Despite the challenges, Saturday's ceremony went ahead peacefully, reaffirming both the endurance of faith and the complex realities facing religious life in Jerusalem today.
Al Jazeera
20-04-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Week in Pictures: From Serbia student protests to anti-US rallies in Yemen
From the Holy Fire ceremony in Jerusalem's Old City to displacement in North Darfur, Sudan, here's the week in photos.
Russia Today
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU ignores ‘shocking' treatment of Moldovan church
Brussels is turning a blind eye to the treatment of the Moldovan Orthodox Church by the pro-EU government in Chisinau, Marina Tauber, a senior opposition MP, has told RT. Her comments came after Moldova's border police blocked Marchel, the Bishop of Balti and Falesti, from departing the country to attend Easter celebrations in Jerusalem. Marchel was due to participate in the Holy Fire ritual at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally held around midday on Holy Saturday. Police stopped him at Chisinau Airport on Thursday under the pretext of a routine search and withheld his passport until after the plane had departed. According to the cleric, airport police singled him out again on Friday, causing him to miss a second flight. Ilona Railean, a Border Police spokeswoman, said the bishop had arrived late and was subjected to 'standard processing procedures.' Marchel accused the authorities of lying. Tauber, the executive secretary of the opposition coalition Pobeda – Victorie, told RT on Friday that she was 'shocked' by the bishop's treatment. 'It's an outrageous situation,' she said, arguing that the authorities had failed to properly explain their actions.'We have never thought that something like this could happen to a clergyman on such sacred days.' Moldova, a former Soviet republic, is home to two branches of the Orthodox Church: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, a self-governing arm of the Russian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, aligned with the Romanian Orthodox Church. Tauber accused Moldova's pro-EU president, Maia Sandu, of repressing the Moscow-affiliated church. 'What is Maia Sandu doing? She is trying to put pressure on our church and our religion,' she said. 'It is very surprising that the European Union is not reacting to what their representatives in Moldova are doing,' she added. 'Brussels is remaining silent.' 'We definitely need to think about what to do [next], because this has happened – and tomorrow, they [may] dictate which temple to go to, which faith is right, and which faith is wrong,' she said. Moldova's former president, Igor Dodon, described the treatment of Marchel as 'an act of terror against our Orthodox faith,' claiming it was an 'act of revenge' against the bishop, a vocal critic of Sandu.
Russia Today
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moldovan govt accused of ‘spiritual terror' after bishop's Easter trip blocked
Moldova's largest opposition party has accused the country's government of 'an unprecedented act of spiritual terror,' after a senior Moldovan Orthodox Church bishop was prevented from traveling to Jerusalem for an Easter ritual. Bishop Marchel was set to attend the Holy Fire ceremony, a major religious event ahead of Orthodox Easter on April 20. Orthodox Christians believe the flame miraculously appears each year on Holy Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, marking the site of Jesus Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Pilgrims traditionally light candles from the flame to bring home. However, Bishop Marchel told TASS on Thursday that Moldovan police had stopped him and two clerics at the airport, conducted searches, and delayed them until 30 minutes after their flight had departed. The Party of Socialists accused the government of 'publicly humiliating' the senior cleric and demanded an apology. 'We consider the actions of [President] Maia Sandu's regime a deliberate act of spiritual terror against the Moldovan Orthodox Church and hundreds of thousands of its parishioners,' the party said in a Telegram statement on Friday. 'Any pressure on the Church is a crime against the people and an encroachment on the foundations of Moldovan statehood.' The party described the incident's timing during the Holy Week as especially egregious. 'The authorities publicly humiliated the archpastor… during the Holy Week, on the eve of Easter. It is a moral downfall of the regime, for which there can be no justifications,' the statement read. It claimed that the incident amounted to 'a declaration of war against the Orthodox majority' by an 'anti-national regime.' Moldova, where more than 90% of the population identify as Orthodox Christians, is home to two major branches of the Church: the Moldovan Orthodox Church, under the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, under the Romanian Orthodox Church. Tensions between the two, while multifaceted, have deepened in recent years amid President Sandu's pro-EU stance and criticism of Moscow. While Sandu earlier claimed her government 'has relationships' with both metropolises, critics have accused Chisinau of pressuring the Moscow-affiliated church. The Russian Orthodox Church has also condemned the incident. 'The advisers to the Moldovan authorities, who are clearly far from Christianity, believe they are achieving some kind of a political goal,' said the Moscow Patriarchate spokesman Vladimir Legoyda. 'This is a completely outrageous decision by the Moldovan authorities, a deliberate mockery of the faithful of the Orthodox Church of Moldova,' he wrote on Telegram.
