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Israel’s deputy foreign minister has issued an apology to the Coptic Orthodox Church after a Coptic priest was beaten by police during Holy Saturday observances at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Police confronted pilgrims outside the church on May 4, as thousand of Christians arrived for Easter celebrations, according to the Orthodox Read more
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I travelled several hours on a bus recently. 50 people all travelling in one direction: a pilgrim people. 50 people all in one vessel. Some in front: others loving the back. Some by the window. Some alone: others in pairs or groups. Some wanting interaction: others seeking ‘personal space’. All adapting to their time in Read more
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Searching for Sugar Man is a strange story. On the face of it, a documentary about a musician famous in one country and completely unknown in his own. Within the layers it becomes an Easter tale. David Letterman called it jaw droppingly fascinating and that about sums up this movie about Sixto Rodriquez, a musical political from Read more
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The harrowing of hell is the Old English and Middle English term for the triumphant descent of Christ into hell (or Hades) between the time of His Crucifixion and His Resurrection, when, according to Christian belief, He brought salvation to the souls held captive there since the beginning of the world. According to the “New English Dictionary” the word Harrowing in the above connection first occurs in Aelfric’s homilies, about A.D. 1000; but, long before this, the descent into hell had been related Read more
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‘Why on earth do people use crosses to mark road deaths,’ asked my friend as we were setting the world to rights over a glass of vino. ‘It seems strange,’ she said, ‘it’s not as though they’d all be believers.’ Her question penetrated. I turned to talk to her but instead found myself looking back Read more
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Easter will be five weeks late for Catholics in the Holy Land. Easter Sunday will be on May 5 because the Catholic Church will celebrate Easter according to the Orthodox calendar. For pastoral and ecumenical reasons, the Latin Patriarchate of the Holy Land has decided from this year onwards to follow the Orthodox liturgical schedule. Read more
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The New Zealand Parliament has rejected legislation to allow Easter trading for the 11th time. 10 bills have been put up by National members and one by Labour. The present bill was sponsored by National MP for Waitaki Jacqui Dean and proposed allowing shops to open over Easter in Waitaki and Wanaka. It was voted Read more
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Jim’s Easterpreneur cartoon made me smile. For a split second I thought I knew what it meant, momentarily forgetting that no creative work about the crucifixion is likely to be that easily tamed. Hoping for inspiration I carried it around in my diary but the wretched thing just kept slipping out of my grasp. Sometimes Read more
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Holy Week and Easter has just been observed right around the world. The Atlantic has posted a picture gallery of 38 images depicting the different ways Easter has been observed. “Families attended church services, hooded penitents took part in processions, and children hunted for Easter eggs. In Catholic passion plays, participants depicted Jesus’ trial and Read more
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Thousands of police were deployed in Indoneisa to ensure a peaceful Easter. In Jakarta a total of 4,313 police were deployed to secure 1,262 churches, while West Java deployed more than 8,000 officers across the province over the Easter period. Thousands of people attended services at Jakarta Cathedral in Central Jakarta. Services were performed three Read more
