Christians Lead Good Friday Procession Along the "Way of Sorrows" Road in Old Jerusalem

Via Dolorosa
The second station of Via Dolorosa, pictured in 2010. |

Via Dolorosa
(Photo : Seetheholyland.net/Flickr/CC)
The second station of Via Dolorosa, pictured in 2010.

Christians from Palestine and different countries marked the day of Good Friday in Jerusalem by holding a procession carrying wooden crosses along the Via Dolorosa (or Way of Sorrows) road in the old part of the city.

The road from Ecce Homo Convent to Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the route which Jesus took on the way to crucifixion. Many Christians believe that he was buried at the Holy Sepulchre before rising again three days later.

Many of the believers carried crosses, while others sang hymns.

Security measures were increased in the wake of recent Brussels attacks and the stabbing incidents in the capital city, and a large number of personnel were deployed on the scene.

Jerusalem has been the focal point of a wave of Palestinian stabbing attacks on Israelis, and Israeli police and soldiers were out in force.

A large proportion of the crowd was affiliated with Greek-Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches who will celebrate the Easter Sunday on May 1.

The pilgrims walked 14 stations on the Via Dolorosa road, and each station is called the "Station of the Cross," where different events happened on the way to Jesus' crucifixion. On the first station, Jesus was given the death sentence, and on the last stop, Jesus was buried.

On the other part of the old city, many Christian worshipers walked outside the West Bank in Bethlehem, which is known as the birth place of Jesus Christ, to lead a protest march from Har Gilo to Gilo against Israel's resettlement policies.

A Nigerian citizen, Jacob Adeyemi, who participated in the Good Friday procession, said that the day makes the Bible come alive.

"We are all happy to be here. It's a privilege. It's a feeling you cannot describe," he told the VOA News. "Coming to see and feel the place where it really happened, it's a great feeling."