You can find the Pastoral Letter from His Eminence Archbishop Hosam E. Naoum, Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, and the Head of the Church for the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, on the occasion of Easter 2023.

Following the Easter Sunday Mass, His Holiness Pope Francis delivers his Easter message and blessing "To the City and the World", underscoring the joyous hope that Christ's resurrection brings and encouraging Christians to rediscover the joy of serving God, working for peace, and helping our brothers and sisters in a world marked by so much suffering.

By Thaddeus Jones

His Holiness Pope Francis gave his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Easter message on Sunday 9 April 2023, appearing from the central loggia of Saint Peter's Basilica overlooking the Square below where he had just presided over the Easter morning Mass.

On April 9, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, celebrated the Service of Nahire (the Feast of Lights), at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma, Damascus, Syria.

‎‏This service was attended by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Cyril Babi, Patriarchal Vicar for the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, and Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Assistant.

On Palm Sunday evening, March 27/ April 10, 2023, the First Service of the Bridegroom, which is the Matins of Holy Monday, was held at the Catholicon of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On this service, the faithful Christians are prepared through the contrite Troparia of this day to unite their souls with the Lord as the Bridegroom of the souls, and to experience the Passion of the Lord and His Resurrection.

On Monday 10 April 2023 evening, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed the Holy Paskha of Tuesday Eve at St. Mark’s Church, Alexandria, Egypt.

The general Bishops of Alexandria have attended the prayer, which are His Grace Bishop Pavly, General Bishop of Montaza, Alexandria, His Grace Bishop Elarion, General Bishop of West Alexandria and His Grace Bishop Hermina, General Bishop of East Alexandria, as well as Fr. Abraam Emil, the Patriarchal Vicar of Alexandria, the Priests and deacons of the Church and a number of the congregation who filled the Cathedral.

On the occasion of the glorious Palm Sunday and the Holy Week, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem extends its greetings to the Orthodox communities and to the people of the world in general. The Patriarchate hopes and prays that peace and security will come to the Holy Land and the entire world in those holy great days.

On this glorious occasion, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem calls for the largest participation in the ceremonies of the Holy Week and Saturday of the Holy light in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the first destination for believers from all over the world during the Holy Week and the Feast of Resurrection.

His Beatitude expresses his wishes and expectations that all believers would be able to exercise their natural God-given right to reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, especially on Saturday of the Holy Light, and to worship freely and safely without restrictions, as was the case for 2000 years, for this Holy Saturday is one of the holiest days marked in the annual calendar of the Orthodox Church. It is a symbol of new life and joy in the resurrection, especially in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

On April 9, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, celebrated the Holy Qurobo on the occasion of Palms Sunday, at St. Georges Patriarchal Cathedral in Bab Touma, Damascus, Syria.

During the Holy Qurobo, His Holiness was assisted by their Eminences Archbishops: Mor Cyril Babi, Patriarchal Vicar for the Patriarchal Archdiocese of Damascus, and Mor Joseph Bali, Patriarchal Assistant.

In his sermon, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II spoke aboutthe journey of the great lent that is an opportunity for us to discipline ourselves, strengthen our faith, straighten our behavior and conquer our desires.

On Sunday, March 27 / April 9, 2023, the feast of Palm Sunday was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On this feast, the whole Church of Jerusalem commemorates the triumphal entry of the Lord after the resurrection of Lazarus, seated on a colt, when the children of the Jews, spreading their garments, received Him holding palm tree branches, crying “Hosanna to the Son of David”.

On this feast, the Hagiotaphite Brotherhood held Great Vespers in the evening at the Catholicon f the Church of the Resurrection after the reception and veneration at the Holy Deposition and the Holy Sepulchre, presided over by His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed, on Sunday 9 April 2023 morning, the Palm Sunday Liturgy in the Great Cathedral of St. Anba Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El-Natrun, Egypt, with the participation of the Bishop and Abbot of the Monastery, His Grace Bishop Aghabios, the monastery’s monks, and a large number of congregation filled the Cathedral.

The deacon’s received His Holiness Pope Tawadros II with palm branches and crosses as they chanted the Palm Sunday melody “Evlogimenos”, and His Holiness prayed the Palm Sunday stations, which includes 12 Chapters of the Bible.

On Saturday, March 26/April 8, 2023, the feast of the resurrection of Lazarus was celebrated by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem in Bethany and on the Mount of Olives. On this feast day, the whole Church, even that of Jerusalem, celebrates what was handed down in the Gospel of John (11:1-45) of the raising from the dead of the four-day-dead friend of the Lord Lazarus, in testimony of the common resurrection before His Passion: “Giving us before Thy passion an assurance of the general Resurrection, Thou hast raised Lazarus from the dead, O Christ our God”.

This feast was celebrated in the Holy Monastery of his sisters Martha and Mary with a Divine Liturgy presided over by His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III…

Dear brothers and sisters,
May the Lord give you peace!

Every night, the light of the risen Christ illuminates the darkness. We see it shining in the flame of the Paschal candle, which has drawn the light of the new fire. It is not a light that can only be seen; it can also be heard. We have heard it today, in the Word that the liturgy of this vigil has offered us: so many lights that illuminate the steps of our faith.

We have heard the story of a long promise of life. The promise of a God who created the world for the specific purpose of making a covenant with man. Starting from creation, we went through the whole story that mankind was called to follow: to accept and to become responsible for the gift received, the gift of God’s covenant.

The traditional Good Friday Way of the Cross procession unfolds at Rome’s Colosseum, with texts chosen by His Holiness Pope Francis to reflect the suffering of humanity as it lives the third world war fought piecemeal.

By Linda Bordoni

An unseasonal cold snap in Rome kept His Holiness Pope Francis from being physically present at the Colosseum on Holy Friday night for the Way of the Cross procession.

Considerations regarding his health after a three-day stay in hospital last week for a bronchitis, led to him having to follow events from his residence in the Vatican.

At the Good Friday liturgy of the Passion of the Lord at St. Peter's Basilica, the Preacher of the Papal Household, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, reflects on the Death and Resurrection of the Lord in our secularized societies.

By Lisa Zengarini

Before the Way of the Cross in the Colosseum on Friday evening, His Holiness Pope Francis presided over the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord at St. Peter's Basilica, commemorating the last hours of Jesus' life.

Fr Tony O’Riordan, who is coordinating the Jesuit Refugee Service’s efforts in Syria, speaks about the humanitarian crisis in the country, and how local Christians are celebrating Holy Week amidst the ruins.

By Joseph Tulloch

Christians in the war-devastated and earthquake-devastated Syrian city of Aleppo are celebrating the Easter Triduum, the holiest period in the Christian calendar, amid the ruins of war.

Holy Thursday, on 6 April, also marked exactly two months since the deadly earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, which left more than 50,000 dead and around 1.5 million homeless.  

JERUSALEM - As the world marks Good Friday, (re-)experience the celebrations of the beginning of Holy Week in Jerusalem.

This year's meditations for the Way of the Cross are testimonies narrated to the Holy Father by men and women who have experienced violence, poverty and injustice, during his apostolic journeys and on other occasions. The compilation that makes up the text was edited by several Dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

By Vatican News

The men and women of all ages and from different walks of life who bring their testimonies and prayers to the Way of the Cross this year, all come from lands that are wounded by bombs, gunfire, missiles or fratricidal hatred. Their stories will accompany the 14 Stations of the journey that unfolds today, 7 April, at Rome’s Colosseum. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

“Resurrection is  our hope in a hopeless situation” 

“Through him (Christ) you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.” 1 Peter 1:21

What is happening in Jerusalem? Why are we living through such tumultuous times? A series of events has left the people and their leaders in confusion and wonder:

Jesus has triumphantly entered the city on a colt. The people, including children, welcomed him by spreading palm branches and their cloaks in the streets. But the religious and political authorities were challenged by this show of triumph and power.

At the Mass of the Lord's Supper at Rome's Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary, His Holiness Pope Francis reminds us of how the Lord, in washing the feet of his disciples, teaches us the importance of humility and service that are born of a noble heart.

By Thaddeus Jones

On Holy Thursday His Holiness Pope Francis went to the outskirts of Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary where he carried out the traditional rite of the washing of feet of twelve of the young people there. Diversity characterized the group, varying in ages from 14 to 25 years of age, ten young men and two young women, two of them of Sinti origin, the others from Croatia, Senegal, Romania, and Russia, representing various faith traditions.

Beloved brothers and sisters,

We are celebrating today great and ineffable mysteries: the institution of the priesthood and the Most Holy Eucharist, the new commandment of love. We are celebrating the risen Life of Christ, communicated to us by the Spirit in the Church. This year, I am particularly struck by the time, the climate in which they were instituted, almost founded: “on the night when he was betrayed” (cf. Jn. 13:2). We all know that the intention of the authors here is not simply to provide us with chronological information. Theirs is a theological indication, a “spiritual note”; the hour of Christ coincides with the hour of darkness.

I would thus like here to contemplate with you this great mystery, right where “it became dark over all the earth”, and where the angels later announced the Risen One.

During Chrism Mass in the Vatican on Holy Thursday, His Holiness Pope Francis thanks priests for the good they do, which so often goes unrecognized. And he encourages them to invoke the Holy Spirit as 'the breath of each day,' which, even in times of crisis, gives them joy and points them in the right direction, toward Christ.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"Priestly maturity comes from the Holy Spirit and is achieved when He becomes the protagonist in our lives."

His Holiness Pope Francis gave this reminder on Holy Thursday morning during the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, as he urged priests to invoke the Spirit not only as "an occasional act of piety," but as "the breath of each day."