CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

Christians are celebrating the “Holy Fire” ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem

Christians have celebrated their “Holy Fire” ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Christians celebrated their “Holy Fire” ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Saturday against a backdrop of rising tensions with Israel, which imposed new restrictions on attendance this year that it said were needed for safety. Israel says it wants to prevent another disaster after a crowd stampede at a packed Jewish holy site last year left 45 people dead. Christian leaders say there's no need to alter a ceremony that has been held for centuries.

Christian worshipers gathered in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Seplucher, the traditional site of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection, to observe the Easter holiday.

Many Christians around the world flock to Jerusalem each Easter to try and relive firsthand the events written about in the Bible on what is the most important week and day on the Christian calendar.

The Church of the Holy Trinity will close after six decades, but its service to the area will continue through the community foundation.

The walls of Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre are etched with thousands of small crosses, but who made them remains an open question. Archaeologist Amit Re'em analyzed thousands of etchings with new digital technology to try to solve the mystery. Ian Lee reports.

Christianity’s most joyous feast day is being celebrated worldwide with worshippers spaced apart in pews and singing choruses of “Hallelujah” through face coverings for the second Easter Sunday in a row.

For a second year, Christians in the Holy Land are marking Good Friday without the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the Holy Week leading up to Easter because of the coronavirus.