On the morning of Wednesday, April 15, one of the most significant traditions of the Easter season was renewed in the Old City of Jerusalem: the exchange of greetings between the Custody of the Holy Land and the Patriarchates of the Orthodox Churches.
An ancient appointment, sealed by the Status Quo, which every year bears witness to the fraternity between the different Christian communities who are guardians of the Holy Places. A simple but eloquent gesture, which acquires an even more intense meaning in the delicate context that the region is experiencing.
This year, the proximity between the Easter celebrations, only a week's difference between the Catholic and Protestant Easter and the Orthodox one, while next year the gap will be five weeks, made this meeting even more immediate and shared in the atmosphere of Easter joy, lived almost simultaneously by the different Churches.
As per tradition, the Custody took part in the meetings with its own delegation led by the Custos of the Holy Land, accompanied by the Vicar, the Custodial Secretary, some Discreets of the Holy Land, and the Frs. of the monastery of San Salvatore.
The morning was divided into a series of visits to the Orthodox Patriarchates of the Old City. The Franciscan delegation went, in order, to the Greek Patriarchate, the Armenian one, then to the Coptic Patriarchate, the Syriac, and finally the Ethiopian, bringing Easter greetings to each community.
At each stop, the exchange of greetings was accompanied by short speeches, in which the Custos and the representatives of the different Patriarchates expressed their common joy for the Resurrection of the Lord. A recurring theme was precisely that of "Easter joy," lived this year with particular intensity also thanks to conditions that allowed for more serene celebrations.
In fact, it was emphasized several times how the recent ceasefire, which began last Thursday, allowed the Orthodox Christian communities to experience the liturgies at the Holy Sepulchre with greater normalcy, without the restrictions that had marked previous periods. An element welcomed by all as a positive sign, despite the awareness of the fragility of the situation.
Alongside the joy, a common invocation also emerged strongly: "that of peace." In an uncertain time marked by tensions, the leaders of the different Churches raised a unanimous appeal so that "the gift of peace may consolidate and reach all the Holy Land and the entire world."
This exchange of greetings, which is faithfully renewed every year, is thus confirmed not only as a gesture of institutional courtesy, but as a true expression of communion among Christians. In the diversity of traditions and rites, it manifests a unity rooted in faith in the Risen Christ and in the common responsibility towards the Holy Places.
In a Jerusalem marked by contrasts but also by profound experiences of faith, today's morning offered once again a concrete sign of fraternity: an invitation to walk together, sustained by Easter hope, towards a future of reconciliation and peace.
Fr. Alberto Joan Pari
