Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem Condemns Israeli Police Actions During Holy Fire Saturday

OCP News Service – 20/04/2025

Jerusalem-Holy Land: The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem has issued a strong condemnation of the actions of Israeli police forces during the celebration of Holy Fire Saturday in Jerusalem’s Old City and around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

In a press release issued today, Easter Sunday, the Patriarchate stated that it “emphatically condemns the egregious violations that desecrated the sanctity of Jerusalem yesterday.” The statement detailed how Israeli police allegedly “transformed the sacred city into a militarized zone, erecting barriers, obstructing the faithful from reaching their churches, and perpetrating assaults against scouts and worshippers, both locals and pilgrims from around the world.”

The Patriarchate asserted that these actions “deprived thousands of believers of their divine right to prayer and worship” and stand in “direct contradiction to Jerusalem’s eternal vocation as a city of peace for all the children of God,” quoting the Gospel of Mark: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Expressing deep concern over the events, the Patriarchate offered a prayer for peace: “In the midst of this affliction, we lift our hearts to the Risen Lord, imploring His just peace to reign over His Holy Land, for the shadow of injustice to be lifted from His city, and for the machinery of war to fall silent in the afflicted land of Gaza. May the light of the Resurrection shine once more upon all the peoples of our region, bearing witness to the triumph of justice, hope, and freedom.”

The statement concludes with the biblical verse from Matthew: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

This press release highlights the tensions surrounding access to holy sites in Jerusalem during significant religious observances and underscores the Patriarchate’s strong disapproval of the security measures implemented during Holy Fire Saturday.

Source:

OCP News Service