Good Friday services take place in Jerusalem

Jerusalem, April 3, (dpa/GNA) - Christians marked Good Friday with a series of services in Jerusalem.

Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal officiated at the Roman Catholic rites to commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus Christ in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where it is believed Christ was crucified and where his tomb is also believed to be located.

Believers were also due to retrace Christ's steps along the so-called Way of the Cross, or Via Dolorosa, remembering the various stages of his journey to the place of his crucifixion in what is known as the Stations of the Cross.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was erected over the site of Christ's crucifixion and burial by the early Christians, is shared by various Christian denominations, including Roman Catholics, Armenians and Greek Orthodox.

The Israeli Tourism Ministry said it expected 130,000 visitors to come to Israel for the Easter celebrations and for the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, which are celebrated about the same time every year.

GNA