Christian pilgrims flock to Jerusalem for Easter services - Summary

Jerusalem - Hundreds of Christian pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem on Sunday to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament.

While Catholics, led by Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal prayed in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City, Protestants marked the occasion with services on the nearby Mount of Olives.

In his Easter message, Twal, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate in the Holy Land, spoke of the need for hope and "a special kind of strength in order to conquer the evil that is within us and around us."

"Today more than ever we need a lively hope in the midst of so much violence, in the midst of bloody clashes and ethnic and religious divisions," he said.

Twal also noted that in 2010 different Christian denominations celebrate Easter on the same day, saying that "this year, then, our joy is double."

"Perhaps someone might be disturbed by the overlapping of prayers and songs that are heard at the same time and in diverse rites," he mused. "Yet this seeming cacophony, lived in faith, becomes instead a symphony that expresses the unity of faith and of the joyful resurrection of the Lord's victory over evil and death."

The prayers concluded with pilgrims circling three times around the stone tomb set in the floor of the church, which is said to be built on the site where Jesus was crucified and resurrected.

"My spirit became more open while visiting the place where Jesus spent his last moments," said Wilma Ferial from Argentina.

"Jerusalem is magic," she added. "It is not only to come back in time, but to have a direct contact with Jesus."

"I am really happy. I never thought that I would be present at such a moment. Now I feel that Jesus is with us," said Rosi Castaneda, a pilgrim from Mexico.

Jews meanwhile, were continuing to celebrate Passover, the final day of which is marked in Israel on Monday.

During the eight-day-long Passover festival, Israel slapped a closure on the West Bank for security reasons, preventing many Palestinian Christians from journeying to Jerusalem for Holy Week.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/317068,christian-pilgrims-flock-to-jerusalem-for-easter-services--summary.html.