In an atmosphere of opulence and splendor, in the presence of a multitude of believers, the service of the Touching of the Holy Light was held in the Holy Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem.
A few minutes after 2:30 p.m., the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III came out of the Holy Sepulcher holding 33 lighted candles in each hand and passed the Holy Light to the pilgrims present for "Come and receive Light", as well as the message of the Resurrection in humanity.
The Patriarch will hand over the Eternal Light to the representative of the Greek State, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andreas Katsaniotis, in a ceremony to be held at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, while the Exarch will transport it to Athens on a special Aegean flight in a special lantern of the Holy Sepulcher.
The aircraft that will carry the Holy Light is expected to arrive at Athens "Eleftherios Venizelos" airport at 18:00 and, subsequently, its distribution throughout the Greek territory is planned.
In a statement by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, it is stated that the shipment to and from Israel is carried out by a special Aegean flight at no cost to the Greek government, while the distribution of the Holy Light in Greek territory will be carried out by Aegean and Sky express flights.
In the mission for the ceremony of Touching and transporting the Holy Light, apart from the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Exarch of the Holy Sepulcher in Greece Archimandrite Raphael, the MPs Maximos Harakopoulos, Stavros Keletsis and Ioannis Sarakiotis, the regional governor of Western Greece Nektarios Farmakis, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.
Andreas Katsaniotis said earlier to the television station "Sky":
"The Greek mission is in Jerusalem for the ceremony of the Holy Light next to the Patriarch. We arrived on Friday night, the Israeli authorities submitted us to PCR and this morning the results came out. We had two options: not to attend the Holy Sepulcher or to come from M. Paraskevi to catch up with all the procedures. We chose to be here. In this troubled time it is important to stand by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The reception of the Holy Light in the homeland will be official".
