JERUSALEM — On the Saturday before Easter, thousands of Christians gather in the cavernous Church of the Holy Sepulcher for a centuries-old ceremony known as the Holy Fire.
Holding unlit candles, they pack into the sprawling 12th century basilica built on the site where, according to tradition, Jesus was crucified and buried. In near-total darkness, the Greek patriarch enters the Holy Edicule and emerges with two lit candles.
The flame is passed from one candle to the next, the light overcoming the darkness in the rotunda. The flame is later transferred to Orthodox communities in other countries on special flights.
Eastern Orthodox Christians believe the light miraculously appears inside the Holy Edicule, built on the traditional site of Jesus' tomb, while skeptics going back to the Middle Ages have dismissed it as a carnival trick for the masses.
Either way, the ceremony, which goes back at least 1,200 years, is a sight to behold.
It has also ignited safety concerns. In 1834 a frenzied stampede broke out in the darkened church, and the ruler of the Holy Land at the time barely escaped after his guards drew swords and hacked their way through the crowd, the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore recounts in his history of Jerusalem. Some 400 pilgrims died in the melee, most from suffocation or trampling.
Israeli authorities have sought to limit participants in recent years, citing safety concerns. That has drawn protests from church leaders, who have accused it of upsetting the delicate, unwritten arrangements around Jerusalem's holy sites known as the status quo.
On Saturday, there was a heavy military presence as thousands of worshipers passed through Israeli checkpoints to enter. AP reporters saw police detain one man, while scuffles occurred between police and some women who were barred from entering the courtyard.
