Israel prevents worshippers from marking Good Friday at Holy Sepulchre

Israel prevents worshippers from marking Good Friday at Holy Sepulchre Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 04/03/2026 - 12:10 Israeli forces allow only a limited ceremony as Christians and Muslims continue to be denied access to Jerusalem’s holy sites Christian pilgrims pray in front of the closed door of Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem on 3 April 2026 (Marco Longari/AFP) Off The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem led a scaled-down Good Friday ceremony at Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, amid Israeli restrictions on attendance. Only around 15 clergy members took part in the Liturgy of the Passion of Christ inside the basilica, traditionally believed to be the site of Jesus’s crucifixion and burial. The public were barred from attending this year’s Good Friday observances due to sweeping Israeli restrictions across occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, affecting both churches and Al-Aqsa Mosque.