Our Orthodox Church will celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration next Tuesday, August 19 (according to the Eastern calendar), with the main celebration taking place at the Monastery of the Transfiguration on the summit of Mount Tabor.

Yesterday, the Israeli police issued a statement announcing a ban on holding the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration, citing—as they claim—security reasons and matters related to public safety.

I warn against the consequences and dangers of this action, which infringes upon one of the important Christian feasts, recalling that something similar also happens on Holy Saturday in Jerusalem—as if there were a deliberate targeting of Christian holidays, aiming to disrupt these feasts and intimidate believers from reaching the holy sites where these spiritual occasions are held.

The Israeli police decision to ban the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration is extremely serious. It is not within the police’s authority to decide whether a religious celebration takes place or not, and the so-called security and other pretexts cannot be believed in any way.

In past years, the mountain was crowded with worshippers and pilgrims—tens of thousands of them—coming from various regions. During that time, visitors from all over the world came to participate in this celebration and witness the cloud that appears on the night of the Feast of the Transfiguration.

We call for rejecting this decision and not surrendering or submitting to such arbitrary measures.

We respect the issue of public safety and understand the security situation, but this must not come at the expense of the feast or this religious occasion, which takes place only once a year on the summit of Mount Tabor.

Many are asking why our feasts are being targeted in this way and with pretexts that have no basis in truth. Is it an attempt to marginalize Christian religious occasions? Or an attempt to disrupt any Christian gathering at feasts and celebrations linked to this land—occasions through which Christians affirm their attachment to this holy land and their deep roots in its soil?

We demand the cancellation of this decision. Security and public safety concerns can be addressed by other means, not by canceling the celebration and preventing believers from reaching Mount Tabor on this sacred night.

Archbishop Atallah Hanna
Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia

Jerusalem, 15 August 2025