From the Liveblog of
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Fire from Jerusalem Holy Fire ceremony reaches Beirut, days before Israel-Lebanon peace talks
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
After the annual Holy Fire ceremony took place yesterday in Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the flame lit in Jesus’s tomb reached Lebanon the same day, says Lebanon’s presidency.
According to Beirut, the flame was carried by air from Israel to Cyprus, where it was taken on board a Lebanese Army helicopter then flown to Baabda Palace, the official residence of President Joseph Aoun near the capital.
The flame’s journey between the Israeli and Lebanese capitals comes days ahead of direct peace talks in Washington between the two enemy states.
The Holy Fire ceremony, held the day before Orthodox Easter, symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus. A flame, supposedly kindled in some miraculous way in the heart of Jesus’s tomb, is used to light the candles of fervent believers from Orthodox communities.
وصلت إلى لبنان شعلة النور المقدس من قبر السيد المسيح في القدس في طائرة هليكوبتر تابعة للجيش اللبناني حطت في مهبط الطوافات في قصر بعبدا آتية من قبرص التي وصلتها الشعلة جواً من القدس. pic.twitter.com/pvDXKspgnb
— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) April 11, 2026
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