THE beginning of Holy Week was muted in the Holy Land. More than 5000 Christians joined the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem amid a strong police and military presence. The reason given by the authorities for such heavy security was “safety” — but participants have reported that they did not find this presence reassuring.

Many in the West Bank were disappointed, having applied for, but been denied, permits to join the procession — usually an exuberant act of witness with bands and music. Again, security was given as the reason.

Speaking to the Church Times this week, the Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem, the Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell, said that Christians there still intended to observe the established pattern of worship and events, despite “a palpable sense of despair”.

Anglicans in Jerusalem planned to gather at St George’s on Maundy Thursday, and to begin their customary liturgy of the Stations of the Cross in the city at dawn on Good Friday. They also planned to join the Good Friday procession along the Via Dolorosa, and to hold their usual Easter vigil and Easter Day liturgy.

Canon Sewell admitted that “it will be another quiet Easter in Jerusalem following the Covid-induced quiet of 2020 and 2021. This year is different because, in addition to the absence of pilgrims, there is the heavy sadness of the terrible war in Gaza and the tightening oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank.”

Referring to Holy Week this year as falling in the middle of Ramadan, and as Jews prepare for Passover, he hoped that “the deepest wisdom of our faiths” could be deployed in pursuit of peace and harmony.

“The peoples of the three Abrahamic faiths have been struggling to find a way to live in peace in the City of Peace for centuries. Sometimes we have managed it better, and sometimes we have spectacularly failed.”

Prayers for peace and justice were uppermost in their minds, he said. “We will have the people of Gaza in our hearts, and we will remember the pain of the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, too.”

Speaking with other bishops of the Anglican Communion in an online meeting last week, the Archbishop in Jerusalem, Dr Hosam Naoum, urged continued prayer for Palestinians and Israelis alike, “so that they cannot be divided even in our prayers”. He also reiterated the importance of calling for a ceasefire and making reconciliation a priority.