The Patriarchate of Jerusalem has announced that this year’s celebrations of Holy and Great Week will be conducted exclusively through sacred services, without additional liturgical events such as processions, due to the ongoing war and widespread insecurity in the Holy Land.
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In an official statement, the Patriarchate emphasized that “for the third consecutive year, at a time when human suffering weighs heavily on the Holy Land, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem reaffirms its commitment to its spiritual and historical mission,” highlighting its role in “preserving the Christian presence, safeguarding the sanctity of religious rites, and protecting the status quo arrangements.”
The statement underlined that, despite the difficult circumstances, efforts continue to ensure that religious services are held “in their holy places and at their designated times,” stressing that this commitment aims at “preserving our rights and this historical arrangement, and protecting it from any infringement.”
Expressing deep concern for the humanitarian situation, the Patriarchate noted that it “grieves with our people in Gaza and shares their suffering, which violates human dignity and the right to life,” while also pointing to “repeated attacks by settlers against civilians and their property in the West Bank” as part of the broader crisis. It further referred to “the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prevention of worshippers from performing their prayers there,” describing these developments as affecting religious life and humanity’s spiritual connection to holy sites.
Amid these hardships, the Patriarchate invoked the words of Scripture: “If we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17), affirming that suffering “does not extinguish the light of hope, but rather calls for steadfastness in faith and the preservation of human life.”
Announcing its decision, the Patriarchate stated that it will limit celebrations from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday “to religious rites only, in recognition of the solemnity of the occasion, respect for human suffering, and preservation of the sanctity of these blessed days.”
It also reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment to maintaining the Status Quo in its entirety, both historically and legally,” ensuring the protection of holy sites and established religious rights.
Concluding, the Patriarchate offered prayers “that just peace may prevail in our land, that the dignity of every human being may be preserved, and that Jerusalem may remain a living beacon of faith, hope, and love.”
Read the full statement:
For the third consecutive year, at a time when human suffering weighs heavily on the Holy Land, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem reaffirms its commitment to its spiritual and historical mission, based on preserving the Christian presence, safeguarding the sanctity of religious rites, and protecting the status quo arrangements, which serve as a firm guarantee of freedom of worship and the continuity of Christian witness in this blessed land. In this context, the Patriarchate emphasizes that its dedication and efforts to ensure the performance of religious rites in their holy places and at their designated times, despite the harsh circumstances, are aimed at preserving our rights and this historical arrangement, and protecting it from any infringement.
As the Patriarchate grieves with our people in Gaza and shares their suffering, which violates human dignity and the right to life, it sees the repeated attacks by settlers against civilians and their property in the West Bank as an extension of this human suffering that afflicts our Holy Land in more than one place. The Patriarchate also observes the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the prevention of worshippers from performing their prayers there, under the current circumstances that affect religious life and the spiritual connection of humanity to its holy sites.
Amidst these sorrows, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem recalls the words of the Gospel: “If we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17), affirming that suffering, however intense, does not extinguish the light of hope, but rather calls for steadfastness in faith and the preservation of human life, which has been entrusted to us as a divine gift.
Based on this spiritual responsibility, and as custodian of Christian holy sites and guardian of the pilgrimage routes to the Holy Land, the Patriarchate announces its continued commitment to reviving its religious heritage, limiting celebrations from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday to religious rites only, in recognition of the solemnity of the occasion, respect for human suffering, and preservation of the sanctity of these blessed days.
The Patriarchate also affirms its unwavering commitment to maintaining the Status Quo in its entirety, both historically and legally, ensuring the protection of the holy sites and safeguarding established religious rights.
We offer our prayers, along with our children and parishioners wherever they may be, that just peace may prevail in our land, that the dignity of every human being may be preserved, and that Jerusalem may remain a living beacon of faith, hope, and love.
