Greece Joins International Outcry as Israel Restores Access to Holy Sepulchre

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. Credit: Gerd Eichmann / CC BY-SA 4.0

Following a diplomatic firestorm, including a crisp rebuke from Greece, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered ‘full and contiguous access’ to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

The determination aims to defuse tensions aft Israeli constabulary sparked planetary outcry by barring the Patriarch from presiding implicit Palm Sunday services.

The reversal comes aft Israeli constabulary blocked Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from entering the tract to observe Palm Sunday Mass, marking what religion authorities described arsenic the archetypal specified exclusion successful centuries.

Greece rebukes Israel for barring entree to the Holy Sepulchre

The archetypal prohibition sparked a swift and crisp rebuke from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which expressed “deep concern” implicit the incident. Athens emphasized that the humanities Status Quo of the Holy Sepulchre—the delicate acceptable of rules governing Jerusalem’s beatified sites—must beryllium respected by each parties “in bully faith.”

Greece, arsenic a accepted protector of Orthodox interests successful the region, reiterated its “unwavering support” for each Christian Churches successful Jerusalem, insisting that state of worship indispensable beryllium guaranteed nether immoderate circumstances. The Greek connection further underscored that upholding these traditions is of “added importance” arsenic the Christian satellite enters the high-stakes play of Holy Week and Easter.

Israel’s U-turn

Prime Minister Netanyahu defended the constabulary enactment arsenic a impermanent information measure, citing the ongoing struggle with Iran. He stated the Cardinal was asked to crook backmost owed to concerns that Jerusalem’s beatified sites person been “repeatedly targeted” by ballistic missiles.

“There was nary malicious intent whatsoever, lone interest for his safety,” Netanyahu said successful a connection connected Monday.

However, the Latin Patriarchate described the determination arsenic a “grave precedent” that ignored the sensibilities of billions of faithful. The U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, joined a chorus of Western critics, calling the regularisation an “unfortunate overreach” that was “difficult to recognize oregon justify.”

Related: New Findings connected the Origins of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre