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Sunday, April 19, 2020

Holy fire and VR in Jerusalem

YESTERDAY: Orthodox ceremony of Holy Fire takes place in deserted Jerusalem (Rami Ayyub, Stephen Farrell, Reuters). In 2019 the event was crowded. (See at 2:25 for the appearance of the fire.) In 2020, just a few clerics were there, some wearing face masks. But the annual ceremony did go forward in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (Holy Sepulchre).

Background here.

By the way, today is Orthodox Easter, so best wishes to all celebrating.

And if you fancy a visit to Jerusalem from your home: With Jerusalem locked down, holy site pilgrims turn to virtual reality. Convergence of Passover, Easter and Ramadan should have been a boon for the city; now those who wish they could visit can instead turn to an immersive VR tour of the Old City (JUDAH KAUFFMAN, JTS).

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