By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Newsunplug KenyaNewsunplug KenyaNewsunplug Kenya
  • News
    • Metro
    • Politics
    • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Spotify
Reading: Jerusalem Christian Landmark Emptied Of Pilgrims
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Newsunplug KenyaNewsunplug Kenya
Font ResizerAa
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Spotify
  • News
    • Metro
    • Politics
    • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Spotify
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Newsunplug Kenya > Blog > Politics > Jerusalem Christian Landmark Emptied Of Pilgrims
Politics

Jerusalem Christian Landmark Emptied Of Pilgrims

hallanaija
Last updated: November 23, 2023 6:37 am
hallanaija
2 years ago
Share
SHARE

Devoid of visitors, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City is haunted by an unusual quiet.

.The holiest place in Christianity has been emptied of its normal throngs of visitors by the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

Briton Noel Gomez, a Catholic, organises Christian pilgrimages and stood where the faithful say Jesus Christ was crucified, interred and resurrected.

“I’m shocked to see this,” he told AFP. “I thought maybe at least 50 or 100 people here. It’s only me and you here now.”

At the beginning of November he was supposed to accompany a 60-strong group to the church. But since the October 7 attacks on Israel such tours have been cancelled.

Under normal circumstances, there would be snaking queues of people wanting to visit the final Stages of the Cross in the church in annexed east Jerusalem.

It usually takes “one and a half to two hours in the queue” for the final station, the marble Edicule, the presumed tomb of Christ, said Gomez, 50.

READ MORE  US Says It Has Not Received A Formal Request By Niger Junta To Leave Military Bases

The October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, the Israeli authorities say. It was unprecedented in violence and scale.

In response, Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas and has relentlessly bombarded Gaza ever since, killing more than 14,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas government.- ‘It’s empty’

“It’s like the feeling of Covid again. Very sad,” said Israeli tour guide Naomi Miller, visiting the site by herself.”One of the holiest sites in the world to Christians. And it’s empty.”

Coptic priest Kyrillos Alorshalemy, 41, said he appreciated the quiet so he could pray and meditate.

In normal times, he said he would have to stand for hours because people “ask priests to pray for them — 10, 20 people every day”.

The lack of crowds means “it is easier to park and get pictures”, said a 43-year-old smiling woman who asked not to be identified.

She prays on behalf of paying customers unable to do so in person.

Their prayers were printed out, and she photographed them before the Stone of Unction, the rock slab where tradition says the body of Jesus was prepared for burial.

READ MORE  No Public Funds Used On Office Of The Spouse To The Prime Cabinet Secretary – Mudavadi

Franciscan Sister Maria Celina Mendoza said she had mixed feelings. She arrived in September for a three-month stay, but spent almost a month “locked up” in a pilgrims’ house in the Holy City after October 7.

Returning at the beginning of November, she felt “great emotion at being able to enter alone” the tiny sanctuary, with “no one telling you to leave”.- ‘Really sad’ -The 69-year-old Mexican nun, a missionary in Angola, added: “On the other hand, the fact that all these people… have left makes me really sad.”

With no pilgrims or tourists, residents now have “easy access, let’s say, that we don’t have all the time”, said a Palestinian Greek Orthodox woman, 39, who preferred not to give her name.

But “the reason behind it is so sad”, she said.

“This is the first time that I’m able to come back, to get the chance to pray and maybe light a candle and pray for peace.”

Much of the current activity around the holy building is linked to restoration work begun at the start of last year.

READ MORE  Ruto's speech interrupted after power disruption in Kasarani

Franciscan Father Stephane Milovitch, director of the Cultural Heritage Office for the Custodia Terrae Sanctae in Jerusalem, said work to restore the basilica’s pavement, and some archaeological excavation, has “begun again” with the return of some Palestinian workers.

The 57-year-old Frenchman said he had also noted the return of some “Filipino, Indian and some South American” immigrants.

“The Church of the Holy Sepulchre reunites Christians separated elsewhere” as it is administered by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox communities, and frequented by the Coptic and Syrian Orthodox churches, he said.

And with no crowding, the current “catastrophe” at least offers “time to meditate and bear in our prayers the suffering of one and all”.

South Africa’s Former President Jacob Zuma Involved In Car Crash
Osoro to Kenyans: How Can You Expect Roads, Electricity, and Jobs Without More Taxes?
Luyha Is Majority Tribe If Credible Census Is Done – Natembeya
‘It looks like a set up,’ Jalang’o says as he rejects the SRC salary increment.
School Bursaries To Increase As President Ruto Signs CDF Bill Into Law
Share This Article
Facebook Email Print
Previous Article Treasury Freezes Plans For New Eurobond After World Bank
Next Article 2023 KCPE Results To Be Released Today
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

about us

We influence 20 million users and is the number one business and technology news network on the planet.

Recent Posts

  • I walked down the aisle on my wedding day with masked bruises – Woman accuses her husband of domestic violence
  • Kenya formally petitions EAC Secretariat over Tanzania’s ban on foreign businesses
  • Government reduces University fees
  • High Court to determine jurisdiction in case challenging DIG Lagat’s decision to step aside
  • FBI opens New Zealand office, citing China threat

Recent Comments

No comments to show.
Newsunplug KenyaNewsunplug Kenya
© Newsunplug Kenya. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?