ATHENS – A delegation to carry the Holy Fire, or Holy Light, from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to Greece, an annual tradition ahead of the midnight Resurrection service on Holy Saturday, is on its way to Greece.

The mission is led by Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Andreas Katsaniotis, who received the light from Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilus III. In a tweet, Katsaniotis said “it was an honor to represent the Greek government” in Jerusalem and receive the Holy Fire from the patriarch. “I want to bring it to our homeland along with the message of the Resurrection message,” he said, adding his best wishes for all Greeks here and abroad.

Originally expected to arrive at 18:00, the return flight is delayed. Once it arrives, the Holy Light will then be transported in other Aegean and Olympic Air planes to another seven destinations within Greece (Thessaloniki, Alexandroupolis, Chania, Larissa, Ioannina, Corfu, Kefallonia), on both scheduled and specially chartered flights for this purpose.