Easter in Jerusalem

(April 25, 2011) Christians from around the world celebrated Easter Sunday in Jerusalem, marking the day of Jesus' resurrection in the holy city some two thousand years ago. Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics held ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial and of his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The different calendars of the churches coincide this year. Clergymen in ornate robes held processions through the ancient building, where the ceremonies of each church are carefully coordinated to avoid conflicts. Protestants held their own Easter ceremonies outside the walled Old City at the Garden Tomb, which some identify as the site of Jesus' burial. Preachers spoke in English and rock bands accompanied worshippers in song.
Meanwhile, in an Easter message, leaders of the Christian Churches of Jerusalem have urged Christians and Churches worldwide to help build peace and justice in the Holy Land and elsewhere in the Arab world and the Middle East. “We find sadness competes with the joy of Easter as we witness the violence which has erupted in the face of peaceful demonstrations by people throughout the Arab world these past months,” said an Easter message signed by eleven Church leaders of Jerusalem. They said that demonstrations calling for reforms would lead to modern civil society where freedom of expression, freedom of religion, human rights – including the rights of those who are considered being a minority in numbers – are respected. They stressed that peace cannot be bought at the price of silence and submission to corruption and injustice. The leaders also called on Christians to pray for reconciliation among people in the Holy Land, where the deteriorating situation makes peace and justice seem further away than ever before. They urged Churches around the world to stand with them in giving voice to those who are silenced, in breaking down walls that separate them from one another and in building bridges of goodwill between people. Among the several Catholic leaders who signed the Easter message are Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem and Capuchin Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Custodian of the Holy Land.