Church of Holy Sepulchre could be closed for Holy Week

Civil authorities barred public access to the church along with other sites in Jerusalem shortly after the first Israeli and US strikes and Iran’s retaliation on February 28.

The fourth-century church is believed to be on the site where Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead.

The Jerusalem city administration announced that all holy sites in the old city, “including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, will remain closed . . . for security reasons in light of the current tensions in the region”.

Fragments from a missile launched by Iran fell on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter and on the Temple Mount near the Al-Aqsa Mosque, said Israel’s foreign ministry on March 16.

The Christian bodies that share the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic, Syriac and Ethiopian Orthodox – have reportedly begun preparations for limited Holy Week celebrations.

Sami el-Yousef, chief executive officer of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, said church leaders plan to meet police authorities “to impress on them the need to allow Easter celebrations, even at a reduced capacity, similar to the pandemic restrictions”, according to OSV News.

There is significant concern regarding the traditional Holy Fire ceremony for Orthodox Easter (April 12, 2026) and its subsequent transport to Greece, ICN News reported.

This current closure at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is reported to be one of the longest continuous closures in the church’s history. While it has closed briefly in the past for protests (2018) or the pandemic (2020), an indefinite closure due to regional warfare is described by church officials as “unprecedented”.

In a letter addressed to the entire Catholic Church to encourage contributions to the traditional Good Friday Collection, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, pleaded for support for the Churches and Christian communities of the Holy Land.

FULL STORY

Holy Sepulchre faces Easter closure as Jerusalem holy sites remain shut (By Patrick Hudson/The Tablet)

Jerusalem: Church of the Holy Sepulchre closed (Independent Catholic News)

Church of the Holy Sepulchre | History, Significance, Jerusalem, Map, & Facts (Britannica)

RELATED STORY

Cardinal Gugerotti: Give to avoid being complicit with those who set world ablaze (Vatican News)