Thousands of believers gathered today in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem to attend the traditional ritual of lighting the "holy flame" on the eve of Easter, with the presence of a large number of police officers.
The Holy Flame or "Blessed Fire" symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is lit on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter) according to the Julian calendar. It is believed that the flame spontaneously appears from Christ's tomb.
Tens of thousands of worshipers arrived at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, said Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri.
The church is located at the place where, according to Christian belief, Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
Today, the church was too small to accommodate all the believers, so thousands of them stayed in front of the building. Most of the believers are pilgrims from Eastern Europe but also from Orthodox Arab communities from the Holy Land.
Pilgrims jostled to pick up the flame that was passed from candle to candle and passed through the streets of the Old Town. The holy flame should then be transported in a procession to Bethlehem, on the West Bank, according to belief the birthplace of Jesus Christ, while also in special vessels the flame will be transported by plane to Greece and other Orthodox countries.
Among other countries, the fire will be transferred to Belgrade, to churches in Kosovo and Metohija, and then to Podgorica, Trebinje, Banjaluka, Pakrac.
The Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher is located in East Jerusalem, in the old city that Israel captured and annexed.
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