On the eve of the Orthodox Easter, thousands of worshipers took part in the traditional "
sacred fire
" ceremony in Jerusalem on Saturday, a thousand-year-old rite symbolizing eternal life, under severe police restrictions.
Candle in hand, pilgrims who were able gathered fervently in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, built on the site where Jesus was crucified and buried before being resurrected, according to Christian tradition.
The ceremony at the Holy Sepulchre.
OREN BEN HAKOON / REUTERS
The basilica is located in the eastern part of Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel, and the Israeli police had limited to 1,800 people, including 200 policemen, the assistance allowed inside the building.
Thousands of other Palestinian believers and foreign pilgrims gathered in the forecourt in front of the church, in the adjacent streets and even outside the walls of the Old City to receive the Easter light, a sign for Christians of the resurrection. of Christ, according to AFP journalists.
It was shortly before 3:00 p.m. (12:00 GMT) that the Greek-Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilus III, came out of the aedicule built above the presumed place of the tomb of Jesus, with two bundles of lighted candles, triggering shouts of joy, songs and cheers before the flame circulates from candle to candle in the assembly exulting after hours of waiting in the darkness of the church.
Nuns in Jerusalem.
OREN BEN HAKOON / REUTERS
For believers, the priests who enter the tomb of Christ with the patriarch receive the flame in a miraculous way.
The ceremony is the most important moment in Eastern Christianity.
The flame which is then transmitted to the crowd outside the basilica is also sent by plane to the Orthodox Churches abroad.
Christians made up more than 18% of the population of the Holy Land when the State of Israel was established in 1948, but are now less than 2%, mostly Orthodox.