Easter message of Christian Church leaders of Jerusalem

By Robin Gomes

Heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem have issued an Easter message offering their prayers for those suffering across the world for various reasons, that they may find hope, peace and life in the Cross of Christ.

Thirteen patriarchs and heads of various Christian denominations in Jerusalem released a joint message on Friday, as violence erupted between Palestinians and Israeli security forces along the Israeli-Gaza border. 

The Cross – way to hope, peace, life

“We pray to almighty God that people who are walking in the way of the cross may find it the way of hope, peace, and life,” said the Easter message signed by the Church leaders.  Among them is Catholic Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate and Franciscan priest Father Francesco Patton, the Custos of the Holy Land.

“We hold in our prayers all those who are suffering in our region and throughout the world, and also, all those who are suffering in silence; for refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced people, for those who live under oppression, for those in want and deprivation, for all victims of violence and discrimination, and for all who strive for justice and reconciliation,” the Church leaders wrote in their Easter message.

Jerusalem - city of hope, resurrection

Calling “Jerusalem, the City of Hope and the Resurrection,” they said the “sacred, communal, and spiritual character” of the city continues to be a “beacon for hope, peace, and life for the people of this region and the entire world.”  The heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem prayed that the Churches in the Holy Land be able to continue “unhindered” to fulfil their sacred duty as manifestations of the living Gospel to serve the poor, seek justice and walk in the light and love of the risen Christ.