The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in a statement protests the new regulations adopted by the Israeli police, limiting the maximum number of worshippers who will be allowed to attend this year's Lighting of the Holy Light ceremony[/B] at the Church of the Resurrection in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Specifically, the Israeli authorities have announced that 1,000 worshippers will be allowed to enter the Church of the Resurrection during this year's Lighting Ceremony and that the number of entry permits granted to worshippers who do not reside within the Walls of the Old City will be limited to 500.
Until now, according to sources in the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the number of worshippers attending the Lighting Ceremony was close to 10,000, and Israeli police authorities granted thousands of entry permits to the Old City of Jerusalem, both to Greek Orthodox worshippers living in other cities in Israel and the West Bank, and to crowds of pilgrims from abroad. With the exception of Easter 2020, when the Lighting Ceremony was held without the presence of worshippers due to the pandemic, such a restriction on the number of worshippers has no historical precedent.
From the Israeli side, it is argued that the reason for the decision to limit the number of attendees at the Church of the Resurrection to 1.000 people is based on the conclusions drawn following the fatal accident that occurred a year ago on Mount Meron in northern Israel during a mass Jewish pilgrimage. During the religious ceremony, an elevated platform on which hundreds of Jewish worshippers were standing fell, crushing those underneath the platform, killing 45 people and injuring 145.
The commission of inquiry that studied the circumstances of that accident recommended a specific ratio of the number of worshippers per square meter in any mass religious ceremony held in the country. The recommendations of the committee of inquiry were adopted by Israeli law, with the result that the new regulations also apply in the case of the Lighting of the Holy Light ceremony in the Church of the Resurrection.
As a well-informed source of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem informed CNA, the counter-argument put forward is that there was never any injury or death during the Lighting of the Holy Light Ceremony, despite the large number of worshippers attending both inside the Church of the Resurrection and in its courtyard.
The same source said that intensive consultations are underway between the Holy Brotherhood and the Israeli police in order to implement alternative security measures. In particular, the possibility of changing the layout of the area, both inside the Church of the Resurrection, including the gallery, and outside, is being discussed, so that this year's Lighting Ceremony can take place normally, as it does every year. The possibility of designating special "emergency exits" is also being considered, in case of emergency.
On a practical level, the difficulty facing the Israeli police is to ensure that the rules applicable to mass worship events of all three monotheistic religions in the Old City of Jerusalem and in Israel in general are equal. It is worth noting that the Jewish pilgrimage to Mount Meron, which claimed the lives of dozens of Jewish worshippers last year, will take place this year on 19 May and new restrictions on the number of worshippers allowed to attend will be applied. This fact reduces the flexibility that the Israeli police have to show as to which security measures should be applied in the particular case of the Lighting of the Holy Light Ceremony in the Church of the Resurrection.
So far, contacts between the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Israeli police do not seem to lead to a mutually acceptable solution.
Source: CNA
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