Israel to help Christians share ‘holy fire’ amid outbreak

Israel is working with foreign governments and Orthodox Christian leaders in the Holy Land to make sure that one of their most ancient and mysterious rituals - the Holy Fire ceremony - is not extinguished by the coronavirus outbreak, officials said Friday.

Each year, thousands of worshippers flock to Jerusalem's Old City and pack into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - built on the site where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected - for the pre-Easter ceremony.

Top Eastern Orthodox clerics enter the Edicule, the small chamber marking the site of Jesus' tomb, and exit with candles said to be miraculously lit with "holy fire" as a message to the faithful. The flame is normally shared with candle-holding pilgrims and even sent in special containers to Orthodox Christian communities around the world.

Details of the flame's source...