Holy Fire" ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem
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.
