Some 1,000 policemen were deployed around the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to control an estimated 10,000 pilgrims. Many worshippers turned back without being able to get inside the church.

Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried where the church now stands. On the day before Easter, Eastern rite churches mark the holy fire ritual. It honours the belief that a holy fire appears spontaneously from Jesus’ tomb as a message that he has not forgotten his followers.

Greek Orthodox, Armenians and other Eastern rite Christians mark Easter tomorrow, several weeks after observances by other Christian denominations. The two groups adhere to different calendars.

In the past, tempers have sometimes flared during Easter Week rituals. Last week, on Palm Sunday, Armenian and Greek worshippers traded blows over rights of worship inside the church. On Saturday, the holy fire ceremony went smoothly. The Greek Orthodox patriarch, Theofilos III, went into the traditional underground tomb of Jesus. When he emerged with a flame, church bells pealed and the crowd outside started to cheer.

Pilgrims passed around the flame, lighting candles with it, and the church courtyard filled with smoke.

Melano Kopadze from the former Soviet republic of Georgia lit several candles with the flame, then blew them out, so she could take them home as presents. “It is like a dream that it has happened,” she said of her first trip to Jerusalem.

The “holy fire” is then taken aboard special flights to Athens and other cities, said Archbishop Aristarchos of the Greek Orthodox Church.