What's behind the visually stunning 'Holy Fire' ceremony in Jerusalem?

JERUSALEM (AP) — 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.

Some worshipers lamented that the turnout lacked in numbers this year because of Israel's 18-month war with Hamas.

“The number of police is higher than the number of pilgrims,” said Adeeb Joude, key holder for the Holy Sepulcher.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, including the Old City with major sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, in the 1967 Mideast war, and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state.

The Old City has a long history of tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, among different religious groups that share its hilly confines and even within certain faiths. Perceived infringements on the status quo in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher have sparked brawls between monks of different denominations.

Israel says it is committed to ensuring freedom of worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims, and has long presented itself as an island of tolerance in the Middle East.

In recent years, however, tensions have risen with the local Christian community, most of whom are Palestinian Christians, a population that has dwindled through decades of conflict as many have sought economic opportunities abroad.

Associated Press reporter Maya Alleruzzo in Jerusalem contributed.

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Christian pilgrims hold candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Christian pilgrims hold candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, left, light candles for Christian pilgrims during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Christian pilgrims hold candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Christian pilgrims light candles during the Holy Fire ceremony, at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in Jerusalem's Old City, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war, in a message that may be intended to pressure the U.S. as uncertainty hangs over a days-old two-week ceasefire and further negotiations are set to begin in Pakistan.

The charts were released by the ISNA news agency, as well as Tasnim, which is believed to be close to the Guard, and showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the Traffic Separation Scheme, which was the route ships used to take through the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil and natural gas traded once passed.

The chart suggested ships travel further north through waters closer to Iran’s mainland near Larak Island, a route that some ships were observed taking during the war.

The charts were dated from Feb. 28 until Thursday, April 9, and it was unclear if the Guard had cleared any mining on the route since then.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted a statement insisting that his surge of warships and troops will remain around Iran “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with.”

Trump’s comments on his Truth Social platform appeared to be a way to pressure Iran.

“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” Trump wrote.

He also insisted Iran would not be able to build nuclear weapons and “the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE.”

The U.S. and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the ceasefire agreement, and world leaders expressed relief. But more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries after the deal was announced.

At the same time, Israel intensified its attacks on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, hitting commercial and residential areas in Beirut. At least 182 people were killed Wednesday in the deadliest day of fighting there.

The violence threatened to scuttle what U.S. Vice President JD Vance called a “fragile” deal.

Iran's parliament speaker said Wednesday that planned talks were “unreasonable” because Washington had broken three of Tehran’s 10 conditions for an end to the fighting. In a social media post, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf objected to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, an alleged drone incursion into Iranian airspace after the ceasefire took effect and U.S. refusal to accept any Iranian enrichment capabilities in a final agreement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that an end to the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon. When the deal was announced, the prime minister of Pakistan, which served as a mediator, said in a social media post that it applied to “everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere.”

A New York-based think tank warned the ceasefire “hovers on the verge of collapse.”

The Soufan Center said Israel's strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday added to the risk the deal would fall apart.

“Even if Lebanon was formally outside the deal, the scale of Israel’s strikes was likely to be viewed as escalatory, nonetheless,” it wrote in an analysis published Thursday. “Israel’s strikes can be understood both as an effort to drive a wedge between Iran and its proxies and as a response to being allegedly sidelined in the original ceasefire discussions.”

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece.

A rescue worker extinguishes burning cars at the site of an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Smoke rises following several Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Ali, 4, holds a toy horse next to the tent his family uses as a shelter after fleeing Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Government supporters gather ahead of the funeral procession for Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, head of intelligence for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

FILE - Two police officers walk in front of an anti-U.S. billboard depicting American aircraft being caught by Iranian armed forces in a fishing net beneath the words in Farsi, "The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, The entire Persian Gulf is our hunting ground," in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)