Jerusalem, May 25, 2020
Photo: kpcdn.net
Despite an official announcement that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre would reopen on Sunday, May 24, “for visits and prayers,” the doors, in fact remained closed.
“Following the situation development in the Holy Land, we the Heads of the Three Communities, custodians of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre and Resurrection, wish to inform that starting on Sunday 24th this most Holy Place will be accessible again to the faithful for visits and prayers,” reads the statement from His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, Francesco Patton, the Catholic Custos of the Holy Land, and the Armenian Archbishop Nourhan Manougian of Jerusalem.
The church was to open to 50 pilgrims at a time, though according to some sources, 50 clerics from various churches came to pray on Sunday, leaving no room for the public, reports Arab News.
Other sources said Pat. Theophilos and the other church heads decided it was preferable to wait until they could allow 100 people into the church at a time.
Pilgrims and parishioners were denied entry on Sunday, to their great disappointment. Religious officials did not indicate when the church would finally reopen after being closed since March 25, though Archimandrite Ghevond Vardapet of the Armenian church reported to RIA-Novosti that the church would reopen in the next two days.
Clergy are currently preparing the church to receive pilgrims, including disinfecting the entire premises.
