The Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem // April 19th 2020
The Sabbath of Light - the sacred fire ceremony of the Eastern Churches - this year without the crowds crowding the church. The sacred fire was taken out of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
The ceremony typically draws tens of thousands of worshippers to an imposing grey aedicule in the Holy Sepulcher that is believed to contain the tomb where Jesus lay two thousand years ago.
After the sacred fire is led, the fire is spread within minutes out of the church to Jaffa gate. From there by taxis to the Ben Gurion Airport to the Eastern churches communities around the globe.
The fire is already on its way to Moscow, Athens, Kiev, Yerevan, Tbilisi, Bucharest, Chisinau and Sofia, where it will be used at the altar for the midnight revival celebrations.
For the first time in over a millennium, in historical Corona times, the sacred ceremony took place in the presence of Israel's policemen, journalists and the social media.
The fire is already on its way to Moscow, Athens, Kiev, Yerevan, Tbilisi, Bucharest, Chisinau and Sofia, where it will be used at the altar for the midnight revival celebrations.