Thousands of Christian pilgrims braved storms, hail and heavy Israeli security in Jerusalem’s Old City on Good Friday to pray along the route which Jesus is said to have taken to his crucifixion. As part of the ceremonies, pilgrims walk the Via Dolorosa, or Way of Suffering, the route which tradition says Jesus Christ carried the cross on which he was to be crucified by the Romans. Latin Patriarch Fuad Twal, the Catholic Church’s representative in the Holy Land, led an early morning procession from the Monastery of Flagellation, where Jesus was beaten, mocked and crowned with thorns.
Other denominations later walked the same route. It follows the narrow often climbing street and the 14 stations of the cross along its way, including where Jesus met his mother, fell several times, was helped to carry the cross, and met the lamenting women of Jerusalem. A joint Easter message by Holy Land church leaders said celebrations of Christ’s resurrection were marred by attacks on Christians in Iraq and Egypt over the past year. They also expressed support for pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping the Arab world and hoped they would not be met with violence.
“We call on all people of faith and goodwill to pursue peace while at the same time we recognise that peace cannot be bought at the price of silence and submission to corruption and injustice,” said the statement from leaders of 13 denominations. The procession ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the sites where Christians believe Christ was crucified and buried. However, heavy Israeli security — with police setting up roadblocks and metal barriers — prevented many from reaching the sacred shrine.
“We were late and now all the ways into the church are blocked off,” said Degratias Shumbusho, a 54-year-old Catholic from Tanzania. “It is the first time I’ve been here and maybe the last as I won’t be able to afford it again,” he said, disappointment etched on his face. “Seeing the Church is what brought me here. It’s the backbone of Christianity.” Israeli forces routinely limit the number of worshippers allowed into the church over the Easter weekend, fearing crowd control issues in the flashpoint Holy City. Others, who made it in, hailed the spiritual experience. “This is the best day of my life,” said Milan Ivanovitch, 45, from Belgrade, who was carrying a large wooden cross and a Serbian flag.
“I came here with my cross to sanctify it. And I took the cross to Golgotha,” the site of the crucifixion, he said hugging it in joy. For many, the main draw was the marble slab where Jesus’ body was laid after being taken down from the cross. There the old and the infirm stoop painfully to press their foreheads against the worn marble, many in tears. In the courtyard outside the church, hundreds of groups jostled for space, singing and praying in dozens of languages, many clutching olivewood crosses with “Jerusalem” etched on the back. Black-robed priests and nuns mingled with pilgrims and tourists, many of them in brightly coloured baseball caps following guides kitted with umbrellas of the same colour.
This year pilgrims had to contend with heavy rains, thunder and even hail, but said they would not be deterred. “As Christians, we don’t allow the cold wet weather to cool our ardour or dampen our enthusiasm,” said Victor Jack, a Briton, who is chairman of the nearby Garden Tomb, also known as Gordon’s Calvary after the name of the British officer who discovered it in 1894.
