Κυριακή 12 Απριλίου 2009

Thousands mark Easter Sunday in Jerusalem

Jerusalem - Thousands of Christian pilgrims flocked to Jerusalem Sunday, to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. Catholics celebrated Easter Sunday mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is believed to be where Jesus was crucified and then resurrected.
Delivering his first Easter sermon since taking up his post, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Raymond Tawil delivered an apolitical speech, noting that the festival was the climax of the Christian year and that "we are participants in the mystery of salvation."
Outside Jerusalem's Old City, several hundred metres from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Protestants conducted their own Easter Sunday service at the Garden Tomb.
Orthodox Jews, celebrating the week-long festival of Passover, congregated at the Western Wall, to participate in the traditional priestly blessing.