Orthodox Christians celebrate Holy Fire ceremony in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre

Thousands of Christian worshipers filled Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday to celebrate the Orthodox Holy Light ceremony, under the watch of some Israeli police.

After hours of anticipation, people were able to light their candles from the little round windows in the tomb of Jesus in the Holy Sepulchre Church. Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III handed worshipers the fire from inside the tomb in a mysterious act considered an annual Holy miracle before Orthodox Easter Sunday.

The light was quickly dispersed among pilgrims from around the world gathered inside and outside the church, spreading in the streets of the Old City, illuminating its alleyways.

The millennium-old celebration, symbolizing Jesus’s resurrection, usually draws thousands of worshipers to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Christians believe Jesus was buried.

But Israeli police have heightened security this year due to the war on Gaza and the high tension in the city, citing safety concerns.

The Holy Sepulchre lies at the heart of the Old City’s Christian Quarter in East Jerusalem.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem, which includes the walled Old City and its holy sites, after 1967 Middle East War in a move not recognized internationally. It sees Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital.