Jerusalem, March 27, 2026
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and the heads of other churches in Jerusalem have convened in an emergency session and written to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar requesting that the Holy Sepulchre be fully opened to parishioners for Holy Week and Paschal celebrations.
The Council of Heads of Churches, meeting under the presidency of Pat. Theophilos, resolved to send the letter after reports circulated in Israel that only 50 people would be permitted to enter the church on Holy Saturday for the ceremony of the Holy Fire, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre and representatives of the other Christian confessions present in the Holy City have expressed serious concern over this prospect.
The church has been closed to parishioners and pilgrims since the outbreak of hostilities with Iran, though clergy have continued to serve within. Some have drawn parallels with the COVID pandemic period, when the ceremony of the Holy Fire proceeded without the presence of the faithful or with severe restrictions on numbers.
The letter calls for the celebrations and services to take place normally and asks for an official response, noting that the uncertainty is already causing considerable anxiety among Christians worldwide regarding what will happen during the Holy Fire ceremony.
Jerusalem is currently preparing to mark both Christian and Jewish Pascha, with the situation in the city remaining fluid. Church leaders are awaiting official instructions from the Israeli authorities before finalizing the order of the sacred services.
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