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JERUSALEM: Eggs on the table and a toy rabbit on the dressing table: With some decorations, the Palestinian Christian Sawsan Bitar tries to save the normality of an Easter eclipsed by the coronavirus.
In the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem that Bitar calls home, the roads are deserted and most shops have been closed for two weeks.
All cultural sites in the Holy Land are closed, regardless of religious affiliation, as authorities try to prevent the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.
Christians will be prevented from congregating for the Easter service, either this coming Sunday, as in the case of Bitar and other Catholic faithful, or a week later, on April 19, in line with Orthodox Easter.
Despite wars and uprisings, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and resurrected, has not been closed during Easter for at least a century, according to Palestinian historian Johnny Mansour.
Bitar, 60, said it was “depressing” that he couldn’t celebrate Easter in church. Israel, which in 1967 occupied eastern Jerusalem and later annexed it, has confirmed more than 9,700 coronavirus infections, with 79 deaths from respiratory disease.
On the Palestinian side, more than 250 cases have been confirmed, with one death. Jerusalem is often the vibrant heart of world Easter celebrations.
Last year, more than 25,000 people gathered near the Holy Sepulcher to attend the Palm Sunday mass, which marks the beginning of Easter week. This year, the cobbled streets of the Christian Quarter were silent and its dozens of churches were empty for Palm Sunday on April 5.
A Jesus-like man, with long hair, a white robe, and bare feet, praying with his Bible on the steps of the Church of the Sepulcher, outlines a lone figure.
Behind the heavy wooden doors of this holiest Christian place, only 15 members of the clergy attended, said Ibrahim Shomali, spokesman for the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem.
“… despite difficult circumstances, there may be positives,” Shomali told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Broadcasting the Mass directly online, 60,000 people watched, he said. This Sunday, the Easter mass will be broadcast on television and social networks.
Only six monks would be present at the church, Shomali said. Watching mass online will be the only way Francis Gharfah will celebrate Easter this year.
An East Jerusalem Palestinian, he left his usual decorations in their boxes and decided not to prepare traditional cakes. “The situation is dramatic,” he told AFP, saying he fears for his work at a non-governmental organization due to the virus.
He was “very moved” by the images of Pope Francis celebrating Palm Sunday in an empty St. Peter’s Basilica, accompanied only by a few religious men and women, each perched on separate benches.
“People thirst for spirituality,” said Shomali, who finds great comfort in a “return of faith” in this dark time. Bitar tries to remain optimistic.
AFP
