Holy fire ceremony during celebrations of Orthodox Easter

(22 Apr 2006) SHOTLIST 1. Wide pan of crowds of worshippers inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher 2. Dehydrated worshipper being given water 3. Worshiper being carried on person''s shoulders through the crowd as people applaud 4. Various of the crowd celebrating inside the church 5. Various of Theofilos III arriving inside the church 6. Various of worshipers trying to light their torches from the torch carrying the holy flame 7. Man holding the holy flame running through church 8. Worshipers passing around the flame to each others torches 9. Various of worshipers holding aloft their torches lit by the flame STORYLINE A flame of light, believed by some to be miraculously ignited, was passed on to thousands of torches and candles on Saturday at Christianity''s holiest site, where thousands of pilgrims from all over the world converged to celebrate an Orthodox Easter rite. Security was extremely tight in Jerusalem''s Old City, site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried. Tempers were short as the faithful waited hours to pass through security barricades into the Old City, with priests and pilgrims at times shoving and punching police. The holy fire ceremony at the church is a key event in the Orthodox Easter rituals. Some Christians believe the flame appears spontaneously from the burial area, as a message from Jesus on the eve of the Orthodox Easter that he has not forgotten his followers. The faithful then pass the flame around to the thousands who attend the ceremony. Church leaders descended into the underground tomb at the start of the ceremony. Worshippers clutching bundles of unlit candles and torches waited in the darkened church for a flame to emerge from the burial site. When church leaders reappeared with a lighted torch, church bells pealed, worshippers cheered, and the flame was passed around to the thousands who attended the ceremony, illuminating the church within seconds. The holy fire celebration took place without incident despite talk that the ousted Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land, Irineos I, might appear. An attempt by Irineos to directly challenge the authority of his successor, Theofilos III, at the flame ceremony would have almost irreparably ruptured the already splintered church. Church officials deposed Irineos last year over the lease of church properties to Jews seeking to expand the Jewish population in Jerusalem''s largely Arab eastern sector and thereby bolster Israel''s claim to that section of the city. Irineos has refused to recognise his dismissal and still commands a band of loyalists. Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and the church''s mostly Palestinian flock in the Holy Land denounced the leases as another attempt to weaken the Arab presence in the disputed city. Israeli security was heightened last year because of showdowns. Thousands of police were stationed in the Holy City this year to guard pilgrims observing Orthodox Easter celebrations. But police said heavy security was standard practice at large public events. Keyword-religion Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metad....ata/youtube/109a7376 أعجبك فيديو (Holy fire ceremony during celebrations of Orthodox Easter)؟ يمكنك اكتشاف المزيد من المحتوى المشابه، مشاهدة أحدث الفيديوهات، والتفاعل مع صناع المحتوى مباشرة على منصة VibVob. شارك برأيك في التعليقات بالأسفل وكن جزءاً من مجتمعنا التفاعلي.