[Intime News]
Athens will ensure the flame ceremoniously lit every Easter in Jerusalem and flown to Greece for Christian Orthodox Holy Saturday celebrations arrives this year despite the war in the Persian Gulf, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday.
In a social media post, Mitsotakis conceded that the war “makes [the flame’s] transportation a much more complex operation this year.”
Known in Greece as the Holy Light, the flame is lit at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and flown to Athens by a specially laid-on flight every year, to be distributed to churches around Greece where it plays a key part in midnight celebrations for the resurrection of Christ.
Mitsotakis said his conservative government “will make sure that [the flame] comes safely from Jerusalem, as it is aware how significant this is for the faithful.”
Catholic Easter rituals in Jerusalem have suffered disruptions with Israeli officials citing security concerns in the aftermath if the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.