Thousands attend Jerusalem 'Holy Fire' rite for Orthodox Easter

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Thousands of Christians attended the thousand-year-old Holy Fire rite in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre Saturday ahead of the Orthodox Easter despite a security clampdown in the holy city.

The ancient church was built on the site where Christian tradition says Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected.

The annual Holy Fire ceremony, during which priests bring a flame from the tomb which they believe sparks miraculously each year, marks the most important event in the Orthodox calendar. 

Clutching candles, so the holy flame can be passed from one hand to another, pilgrims crowded the inside the church this year in reduced numbers.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, and for the second consecutive year Israeli police had told church leaders that access would be considerably restricted.

In the past about 10,000 worshippers 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.

This year's ceremony also comes after deadly attacks and clashes in Israel, East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, and cross-border fire several days ago between Israeli forces and fighters in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces said attendance inside the church would be limited to 1,800 people including clergy as a safety measure.

Last year there were scuffles between worshippers and police who set up barriers throughout the city's Christian quarter.

"We understand the feeling, the religious feelings of people that want to participate in this Holy Light ceremony. But unfortunately not everyone can enter the church because of the safety regulation," Yoram Segal of the Jerusalem district police said.

He said the ceremony would be broadcast on screens in the Old City.

Father Mattheos Siopis from the Greek Orthodox Church said the Israeli forces were “enforcing unreasonable restrictions”.

“The ceremony has been faithfully taking place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for nearly 2,000 years,” he said.

After talks broke down between Christian leaders and the Israeli forces, Siopis urged “all who wish to worship with us to attend” on Saturday.

Christians made up more than 18 per cent of the population of the Holy Land when the state of Israel was created in 1948, but now they are fewer than two per cent, mostly Orthodox.