Orthodox Christians marked Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, the beginning of the Holy Week leading up to Orthodox Easter.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III attended the vigil in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Some faithful wore masks and held palm fronds to symbolise how worshippers greeted Jesus over 2,000 years ago as he triumphantly returned to Jerusalem.
The provision for gatherings come after Israel launched one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns, allowing it to reopen restaurants, hotels and religious sites.
But air travel is still limited by quarantine and other restrictions, keeping away the foreign pilgrims who usually throng Jerusalem during Holy Week.
