One of the most complex ceremonies in Holy Week is the Holy Fire, to take place on the night of April 18 this year.The flights are arranged, although the other details are not yet set. We'll see what happens.
Orthodox Christians describe Holy Fire as a miracle, which happens the day before Easter each year. Before heading into Jesus’ tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Greet Orthodox Patriarch is checked that he does not have any way to produce fire. Then, he goes into the tomb by himself and comes out with fire. Normally, the fire is distributed among the thousands of people people gathered at the church.
This ceremony has taken place since the year 867, with evidence that it has happened annually, uninterrupted for six to seven centuries.
Then, some of the fire is put into special containers and brought to Ben-Gurion Airport to planes waiting to distributed it to Eastern Christendom via churches in Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and other countries.
The article is not clear whether the Palm Sunday parade in Jerusalem will happen this year, but it won't include the normal large crowd of people.
Ramadan begins this year on 23 April. Whether the Temple Mount will be open that soon remains to be seen.
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