Representatives of the Common Technical Bureau of the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem announced the utmost number of pilgrims permitted to attend the Holy Fire Ceremony on Holy Saturday.
Theodosios Mitropoulos, the architect of the Church of the Resurrection, and Nagib Naser, the architect of the Franciscan Brotherhood, confirmed to the Tourist Police station that the Holy Fire ceremony would be attended by a maximum of 4,200 people both within and in the courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre Church.
The Israeli Police met with Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem last week to discuss matters pertaining to Holy Week and Easter services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Six months have passed since the onset of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which has claimed over 33,000 lives. The recent assault by Iran on Israel has exacerbated the regional sense of insecurity.
As reported by Orthodoxia News Agency, the hagiotaphite fathers are mindful of the threat of assaults and the fact that the region’s instability deters pilgrims from visiting the Holy Places. The Church of Bulgaria, for instance, will not dispatch a delegation to the Holy Fire Ceremony in Jerusalem this year.
Photography courtesy of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem
