Assyrians along with other Christians celebrated Easter in Jerusalem

by John Russell Sun
Apr 8, 07

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Thousands of worshippers from five Christian faiths on Sunday celebrated Easter at the traditional site of Jesus's death, burial and resurrection -- Jerusalem's contested Holy Sepulchre Church.

Pilgrims thronged to the Baroque chapel in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City to hear the five denominations' Easter masses, held in tight succession according to a controversial, 150-year-old schedule which divides the sacred sanctuary among the rival faiths.

While some came from nearby Egypt, others arrived from distant countries such as India, Nigeria, and South Korea. Israel, which imposed travel bans during the Jewish Passover holiday, allowed over 8,000 Palestinians into Jerusalem from the West Bank and more than 500 from the Gaza Strip.

The pious wept for joy and cried in anguish as they washed the stone slab where they believe Jesus's corpse was prepared for burial and lit candles next to the tomb in which they believe he was buried.

Due to a rare convergence of the Gregorian and Julian calendars, Armenian, Greek Orthodox, Catholics, Copts, and Assyrians all celebrated Easter on the same day this year, only the fourth time the two Easters have coincided in 20 years.

In the past, impassioned clergymen have come to blows and many have been hospitalised over alleged encroachments onto another's territory or time allotment.

"It's very complicated when everybody has to come together and pray at the same time," says Franciscan monk Father Athanasius.

"If our mass runs even a few minutes too long our procession will run into the Greek procession and there could be problems," the Texas-born monk added.

The status quo agreement drawn up by the Ottomans in 1852 dictated every detail of such Easter Sundays. The Armenians have until 10 am (0700 GMT) for their procession and mass, Catholics have from 10 am to 1 pm and the Greek Orthodox have from 1:15 onward.

The smaller denominations, the Copts and the Assyrians, are each allotted a corner and a few minutes for services on the church's fringe, but are not allowed processions.

The schedule even lays out the three minute time slot for Coptic monks to enter the Franciscan sanctuary and sprinkle incense on the column where Jesus is believed to have been scourged before his crucifixion.

To avoid conflicts, daylight saving time never applies inside the church and the keys to the church's massive doors have for seven centuries remained in the hands of two Muslim families.

The status quo, never meant to be permanent, is all that reins in the denominations' desire for longer masses and more real estate around the revered tomb.

And despite that agreement, the faiths continue to view each other with suspicion.

"We follow the status quo and everything is okay, it has to be followed as it is written," says Armenian cleric Deacon Avetik.

"But it is ignored by the Greeks. They always want more rights and try to say that this is their church."

For the thousands of pilgrims who came to Jerusalem from across the globe to celebrate Easter, the delicate balancing act passed by this year without a hitch.

"Jerusalem is a wonderful place because of the way that it accommodates all faiths, religions and beliefs," said Sri Lankan pilgrim Mary Jeyaseelan.

For others, the presence of Assyrian, Egyptian and other Eastern church masses make the pilgrimmage an exotic affair.

Retired British construction worker Patrick Walsh decided to forgo his customary Catholic mass this Easter.

"I prayed the Assyrian mass because it's in Aramaic and I've never prayed in the language of Jesus before."