MOUNT OF OLIVES

LONDON — (AP) — Two senior clergymen in Jerusalem have consecrated the holy oil that will be used to anoint King Charles III during his coronation, as the Anglican Church seeks to underscore the monarchy’s long history and the royal family’s links to the Middle East. The oil was consecrated Friday morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site of Christ’s crucifixion and burial, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. The ceremony was conducted by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, and the Most Rev. Charles’ paternal grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, is buried at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives. Charles became king on Sept. 8 following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned for more than 70 years.

Two senior clergymen in Jerusalem have consecrated the holy oil that will be used to anoint King Charles III during his May 6 coronation, as the Anglican Church seeks to underscore the monarchy’s long history and the royal family’s links to the Middle East

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.

Israel Palestinians Holy Week Nuns walk in the Palm Sunday procession on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) (Maya Alleruzzo)JERUSALEM — (AP) — Thousands of Christian pilgrims took part in Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem at the start of the Holy Week. The holiday this year comes as tourists are returning to the Holy Land following two years of disruption during the pandemic. Worshippers carried palm fronds and olive branches and marched from the top of the Mount of Olives to the Old City of Jerusalem. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and is the start of the church’s most solemn week, which includes the Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus’ crucifixion and death and his resurrection on Easter.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims have taken part in Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem at the start of the Holy Week.

JERUSALEM — (AP) — Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority on Monday said it was backing down from a contentious plan to encompass Christian holy sites on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives in a national park following vociferous outcry from major churches. The Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem rises above Jerusalem’s Old City and its sites are holy to three monotheistic faiths. The Armenian, Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches petitioned Israel’s environmental protection minister, whose department is in charge of the Parks Authority, in a letter last week. But shortly after the churches' outcry, the Nature and Parks Authority said it was freezing the plan, which was to be approved on March 2 by Jerusalem's planning committee. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future independent state, while Israel considers the city its united capital.

Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority says it is backing down from a plan to encompass Christian holy sites on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives in a national park after vociferous outcry from major churches.

Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority on Monday said it was backing down from a contentious plan to encompass Christian holy sites on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives in a national park following vociferous outcry from major churches. The Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem rises above Jerusalem’s Old City and its sites are holy to three monotheistic faiths. The Armenian, Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches petitioned Israel’s environmental protection minister, whose department is in charge of the Parks Authority, in a letter last week.

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.