Jerusalem, March 3, 2026
Photo: gallerybyzantium.com
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been closed for security purposes following Iranian missile strikes on Israeli territory, including the Holy City of Jerusalem, in the context of the war between the United States and Iran.
The United States and Israel launched joint military operations against Iran on February 28, to which Iran responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. military bases across the Middle East, with air-raid sirens sounding across Israel as residents took shelter.
As a result of the closure, the Jerusalem Patriarchate celebrated the Sunday of Orthodoxy on March 1 in an alternative venue. Vespers were held not in the Holy Sepulchre, as is customary, but in the Patriarchal and Monastic Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen. His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III presided, concelebrating with the Holy Sepulchre fathers and hierarchs present.
The Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning was likewise celebrated in the Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen. The service was attended by nuns, a small number of Jerusalemite faithful, and pilgrims.
Following the Liturgy, the procession of the holy icons took place on the terraces of the central monastery, followed by the reading of the Synodikon—the proclamation of “Memory eternal” for the defenders of the holy icons and “Anathema” upon the iconoclasts and all heretics. The festivities concluded with a procession to the Patriarchate Hall and a festal reception.
Follow OrthoChristian on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe and Gab!
