Jerusalem church laments heavy police curbs on upcoming Easter service
Church leadership and Jerusalem police have been negotiating the number of worshipers who will be allowed to attend the Holy Fire ceremony
The Greek Orthodox Church on Wednesday slammed Israel's "heavy-handed restrictions" on its upcoming Easter celebrations in Jerusalem, urging Christians to attend in spite of police curbs.
Church leadership and police have been negotiating over the number of worshipers who will be allowed to attend the Holy Fire ceremony on Saturday in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
"After many attempts made in goodwill, we are not able to coordinate with the Israeli authorities as they are enforcing unreasonable restrictions," Father Mattheos Siopis from the Greek Orthodox Church told AFP.
Now the negotiations appear to have ended, with police limiting church attendance to 1,800 people, including clergy. Police are calling it a "necessary safety precaution."
"I want to emphasize that our main concern is the safety of the pilgrimage that are coming to the Old City. The numbers were provided by the safety engineer," who assessed the church, said Yoram Segal from the Jerusalem district police.
Segal said the ceremony will be broadcast on screens in the Old City, and that police will do their best to ensure the flame can travel onwards to Christian communities beyond Jerusalem.
The annual Holy Fire ceremony is the most important event on the Orthodox calendar. It takes place inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians believe Jesus's tomb lies, with priests bringing a flame from the tomb which they believe sparks miraculously each year.
In the past, some 10,000 worshipers clutching candles would fill the church, with many more crowding into the surrounding alleys of the Old City, before the flame was flown to Orthodox communities internationally.
Siopis said these measures "made impossible" the access of Christians to the church, and he urged "all who wish to worship with us to attend".
"With that made clear, we leave the authorities to act as they will. The churches will freely worship and do so in peace," he said.
It is the second consecutive year in which Israel Police has limited access. Last year, scuffles broke out between worshipers and police officers who imposed barriers throughout the city's Christian quarter.
A heavy police presence has been felt in the holy city this year, as the Christian Easter holiday, the Jewish Passover, and Muslim holy month of Ramadan all coincided.