Jerusalem’s holiest sites could remain closed for Holy Week and Easter due to security concerns over the Iran war.
The 4th-century Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christ is believed to have been buried and risen from the dead, is closed indefinitely after shrapnel fell onto its roof. It is unclear whether it will reopen for Holy Week and Easter.
Other sacred places for Christians, Jews, and Muslims—including the Western Wall, Temple Mount, and the Garden Tomb, which some Christians also believe to be the site of the resurrection—are also closed.
Christian journalist Paul Calvert, who lives in Bethlehem, told Premier Christian News: “The Garden Tomb really relies on tourism, and it's looking like they won't have any Easter celebrations. Even during the Gaza war they have had Easter celebrations there, but it's looking like they're not going to be having any there this year. So it’s a very, very sad and difficult time for the Christian community.”
The closure of these holy sites ahead of Holy Week and Easter is significant, and many Christians fear they will be unable to attend traditional services.
Paul Calvert said a Holy Saturday service marking Orthodox Easter at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is always a highlight of the year:
“We have the traditional Easter that the West usually celebrates, then a week later we have the Orthodox Easter, and that is where you have the Holy Fire celebration. Thousands and thousands of Christians go in there with their candles, get their candles lit and they come out with the holy fire. They celebrate and rejoice and then that light is passed throughout the Orthodox world. It then comes to Bethlehem, to the Church of the Nativity. It’s a very moving experience.”
He added that it is not known whether this event will take place this year or move online.
In a statement, the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land said it was “not possible to make predictions" about whether the Church of the Holy Sepulchre would open in time for Easter. However, they invited the faithful to join in prayer "so that war and violence may cease, and that the paths of dialogue, diplomacy, and politics—the only ways capable of building just and lasting peace—may be walked with courage and responsibility."
Calvert said he believes it is right for the sites to remain closed at this time because “it’s a very dangerous, intense situation. We've had debris falling here in Bethlehem, where I live. I went to do an interview just recently, and I was early, so I stood there and I looked out and took some photographs, and then two weeks later, the rocket hit exactly where I was standing. So it's not safe for anybody at the moment.”