Christians in Jerusalem mark Good Friday

Believers in Jerusalem gathered in their hundreds for prayers on Friday morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried.

Inside the church is a smooth stone that is said to mark the spot where Jesus’ body was placed after his crucifixion. There is also a structure which marks the cave that Jesus is believed to have been buried in after his death.

On Good Friday, Roman Catholic friars filed into the church followed by pilgrims to mark the day on which Jesus was crucified.

Christians later thronged to the Old City of Jerusalem for processions following the route of Jesus’ crucifixion. The processions followed the 14 Stations of the Cross, which traditionally tell the story of Jesus from his trial to his death and burial.

Some of the processions carried wooden crosses and some were singing in Latin while local Christians sang in Arabic.

As well as Christians, Jews also gathered in large numbers in the Jewish Quarter and at the Western Wall to mark the Passover, which celebrates God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt.

Orthodox Christians, who use a different calendar, are due to remember Good Friday on 17 April.