Happy Easter! We join the Orthodox celebrations of the Easter Message of hope to the World: The Orthodox Christian world in the Middle East as well as within many other countries now celebrate Easter, as the holy fire ascended in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Patriarch Theophilos III led the celebrations as the fire was transported to other Orthodox nations.
The crowds cheer inside the Holy Sepulchre church, which is built on the site where Jesus cross once stood, known as the place of Golgatha for Protestants. The honorable Patriarch Theophilos III brought the fire from within the church out to the cheering crowds.
Happy Easter! We join the Orthodox celebrations of the Easter Message of hope to the World: RT writes: The Holy Fire appeared in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Saturday, at Orthodox Easter.
Orthodox Christians believe that once a year, blue light emits from the tomb of Jesus Christ deep inside the church. It then turns into a flaming column, which the clerics use to light candles in order to pass the fire to the pilgrims.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Celebrating Easter with Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Middle East
- He is Risen – to our brothers and sisters in the Orthodox world #Easter
- Easter Speech: Pope Francis calls wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen scandalous, demanding end of military conflicts
- Reflections on the need for Spiritual Awakening at Easter
The ceremony, which symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus, usually gathers tens of thousands of worshipers, but in 2020, it was marred by the harsh coronavirus measures. Last year, when Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III emerged from the building carrying the flame, the courtyard was largely empty, with only a few clerics in face masks and Israeli police officers attending.
This time, the ‘miracle’ was witnessed by a much larger crowd, as Israel has eased restrictions on gatherings in recent months, following a record vaccination drive which has seen more than half of the population vaccinated against Covid-19.
The Holy Fire is flown to a dozen countries, including Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, and Georgia.
The level of censorship in social media and search engines is all-time high. Do like thousands of others, subscribe to The Herland Report newsletter here!
Led by Scandinavian bestselling author, Hanne Nabintu Herland, The Herland Report news and opinion website provides independent analysis from leading Western intellectuals and ground breaking YouTube interviews, cutting through the mainstream media rhetoric. It is a great place to watch interviews and read the articles of leading intellectuals, thought leaders, authors and activists from across the political spectrum. The Herland Report believes in freedom of speech and its editorial policy resides above the traditional Left vs Right paradigm which we believe has lost its relevance and ability to describe the current driving forces in Western politics.
