Vaccinated Faithful Throng Jerusalem Church For Holy Fire

May 1, 2021 10:34 am

JERUSALEM (AP) – Clerics and faithful from Eastern Orthodox churches are marking the annual Holy Fire ceremony inside Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher church. Hundreds packed in Saturday to the church revered as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, with only a few wearing masks and no distancing. Entry has been restricted to those fully vaccinated. Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III led the event. The scene at the church was a stark contrast to last year’s, when only a handful of religious leaders held the centuries-old ceremony in a near-empty setting enforced by the coronavirus pandemic. Israel has significantly lifted most of restrictions, including mask-wearing in public, after a world-leading vaccination drive.