Pilgrims Flock To Jerusalem

Pilgrims from every strain of Christianity crowded the streets of Jerusalem's Old City on Good Friday.

Christian worshippers marched through the stone streets of the Via Dolorosa, retracing the footsteps of Jesus to the 14 stations of the cross, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger. Fears of terrorism kept many pilgrims away, but not Sherri Branson of Miami.

"Being in the holy place and reading the scriptures, it's quite impressive," she said.

Security was tight, because of threats by the militant Islamic group Hamas to exact revenge for Israel's March 22 assassination of its founder. Well-armed Israeli troops guarded the route.

"I feel totally safe," said Joe Burke of London. "It's probably ironically some of the best security in the world."

Tradition says Christ took Via Dolorosa, or Way of Sorrows, on his way from his trial to his burial. It was followed Friday by groups from Russia, Poland, Greece, the Philippines and Ethiopia

This year, Easter Week is marked at the same time by both Orthodox and Western Christians, which generally follow different calendars.

Police and local shopkeepers, some of whom were selling bootlegged DVDs of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," said this year's Good Friday turnout was larger than any since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in September 2000.

Worshippers sang and carried icons, candles, flowers and crosses as they walked along the alleys to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is built over the sites where believers say Christ was crucified and buried.

One group of about a dozen people, each wearing a crown with thorns up to six inches long, carried a large cross. Another group reenacted the Passion with actors playing the parts of Jesus, Roman soldiers and the disciples.

The procession often ground to a halt as the throng tried to turn sharp corners or pass through narrow passages. Some pilgrims tearfully kissed the pillars of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as they waited to get in. Once inside, many wiped prayer cloths across the Stone of Unction, where Christ was anointed for burial.

Sara Svensson, 23, came from Stockholm for Easter Week. "It's extremely special, especially with the conflict going on, to see people from different faiths and from all over the world come together to worship peacefully," Svensson said.

This year, Easter Week also overlaps with the weeklong Jewish Passover holiday.