Christians Retrace Jesus' Steps
Pastor Dale Morgan
Christians Retrace Jesus' Steps
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By BEN WINOGRAD
The Associated Press
Wednesday, April 4, 2007; 3:41 PM
JERUSALEM -- Thousands of pilgrims retraced Jesus' footsteps Wednesday
as they celebrated Holy Week at the sites where Christians mark his
crucifixion, death and resurrection.
A decrease in Palestinian-Israeli violence and the overlap of Christian
calendars brought a wave of visitors to the Old City.
Herlind Vermeulen of Belgium, who timed her wedding to her husband, Wim,
for the early spring so they could spend Holy Week honeymooning in
Jerusalem. "This is the high point," she said.
Tourists had virtually disappeared from Jerusalem when Palestinian
suicide bombers began targeting the city after fighting between Israel
and the Palestinians broke out in September 2000. In recent years,
however, their has been a marked drop in attacks here, and tourists have
slowly returned to the Old City, which holds most of the holy sites.
Thousands of pilgrims began the celebrations with a Palm Sunday
procession from the Mount of Olives to the Old City, retracing Jesus'
triumphant return to the city. On Good Friday, they will mark his
crucifixion and death. On Sunday, they will celebrate Easter, the
holiest day of the Christian calendar, marking Jesus' resurrection.
The crowds were also larger than usual as five different Christian sects
_ with their different calendars _ celebrated the Holy Week festivities
on the same days for the first time in four years.
Taking a rest in front of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where most
Christians believe Jesus was buried, Parisians Giullame and Anne-Marie
Blaise said the Old City seemed more crowded than on any of their five
visits since 1963.
Due to the influx, officials established a strict schedules for each
denomination to conduct religious ceremonies inside the Old City, said
the Rev. Athanasius Macora, a Franciscan priest based in Jerusalem.
There have occasionally been scuffles during disagreements over access
to holy sites.
Among the beneficiaries of the calendar was Said Samakiyan, 49, of
Jerusalem, whose family typically cannot celebrate Easter on the same
day. He and his mother are members of the Assyrian Church, while his
father is an Armenian Catholic, his wife is Greek Orthodox and his
children are Roman Catholics, he said.
Thousands of Palestinian Christians from nearly Bethlehem also come to
Jerusalem during Holy Week.
Inaam Qumseyh, visiting with her daughter-in-law, said she was lucky to
receive one of the visitor permits the Israeli government distributed to
Bethlehem churches. Two of her sons, aged 30 and 32, were not so
fortunate, she said.
Meanwhile, shopkeepers _ known as a pessimistic lot _ insisted they had
the fewest customers in years and said only a turn in political fortunes
would bring the crowds back.
"When there is peace, the tourists will come," shopkeeper John Attieh said.