Regional instability stemming from the Iran war, and the threat of Iranian missile and drone strikes, disrupted Christian observance of Holy Week across the Middle East, with churches in Iraq, Israel, and the UAE canceling or scaling back Palm Sunday and Easter celebrations.
The decisions were driven primarily by security concerns, as Iranian projectiles had struck or threatened areas near major Christian population centers, including Erbil and Dubai’s Jebel Ali district.
In Iraq, the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul called on the faithful to live the holy days in a spirit of faith, prayer, and fraternal solidarity, avoiding large gatherings and refraining from outward displays of festivity as an expression of solidarity with those suffering from the war and in order to preserve everyone’s safety.
The archdiocese limited holiday celebrations to church interiors and canceled the large annual Palm Sunday procession through the city’s streets, as well as the customary exchange of holiday greetings throughout the archdiocese.
The Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil canceled its annual Palm Sunday procession, which it had traditionally organized in cooperation with the apostolic churches in Ankawa. Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda told ACI MENA that security requirements drove the cancellation, which the faithful await each year with joy and eagerness, in order to guard everyone’s safety.
The archdiocese limited its activities to regular Masses, evening prayer, and the Way of the Cross, while canceling catechism classes for all age groups and youth meetings since the beginning of the war and the targeting of Erbil by Iranian missiles and drones.
The archdiocese also announced the postponement of the 2026 Ankawa Youth Gathering, which had been scheduled for March 18–21. Other dioceses and parishes across Christian towns and villages appeared to be moving in the same direction, canceling processions and confining celebrations to church buildings, though without formal announcements.
Qaraqosh, Ankawa, Al-Qosh, and other Christian towns and villages in Iraq have long organized large Palm Sunday processions. This tradition has only previously been interrupted under exceptional circumstances, including the years of forced displacement during the ISIS occupation of 2014–2017.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Fr. Francesco Ielpo, the Custos of the Holy Land, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Palm Sunday, March 29. The Latin Patriarchate stated it was the first time in centuries that the Heads of the Church had been prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the site. Police cited wartime safety restrictions, noting that Jerusalem’s Old City lacks bomb shelters adequate for large gatherings and that Iranian missiles had struck near the church.
The traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives, which normally draws tens of thousands, was also canceled. Following international criticism from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, Prime Minister Netanyahu reversed the decision, ordering that Pizzaballa be granted full access to the church for the remainder of Holy Week.
The White House confirmed it had expressed concerns to Israel over the closure. Israeli police subsequently approved a limited prayer arrangement at the church. The Western Wall and Al-Aqsa Mosque remained under tight restrictions for the same period, affecting Jewish Passover and Muslim worship as well.
In Dubai, two Catholic churches, St. Francis of Assisi in Jebel Ali and St. Mary’s, canceled all masses following government directives, citing safety concerns. The Jebel Ali area had been struck multiple times by Iranian missiles and drones. St. Mary’s announced that Good Friday mass would be livestreamed on its YouTube channel. Despite the cancellations, some parishioners gathered outside the church compounds to pray.
Pope Leo XVI, in his Palm Sunday address at the Vatican, said he prayed for the Christians of the Middle East who were unable to fully observe the liturgies of the holy days. He held separate calls with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during Holy Week, urging peace and the protection of civilians.
Beyond the disruptions caused by the Iran war, sectarian violence broke out in the village of Nazlat Jalf in Minya Province, Egypt, after rumors spread online about a relationship between a 17-year-old Christian boy and a 16-year-old Muslim girl. Members of the Muslim community responded by attacking Christian homes and property. Authorities arrested two individuals, one Christian and one Muslim, for allegedly inciting the unrest online.
A government-backed reconciliation session subsequently imposed collective punishment on the Christian boy’s family, fining them one million Egyptian pounds and forcing them into exile from the village.
Critics, including political parties and activists, condemned the decision as unjust, arguing that such sessions deny proper legal process and disproportionately punish vulnerable groups, and called for a full investigation and enforcement of the law rather than informal settlements.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide also criticized the outcome, stating that reconciliation sessions frequently fail to deliver justice, punish victims, and do not address the root causes of sectarian tensions, urging Egyptian authorities to ensure equal treatment under the law and to protect the rights of all citizens regardless of religion.
Because of ongoing repression and violence, the Christian population of the Middle East has been in steady decline since the 1960s. Iraq has been particularly hard hit, with the population decreasing by 80% since 2017.
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