MOUNT OF OLIVES

Many Christians around the world flock to Jerusalem each Easter to try and relive firsthand the events written about in the Bible on what is the most important week and day on the Christian calendar.

By Anamarija BrnjarchevskaA handwritten letter by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1815 is expected to sell for 300,000 dollars. “It’s a rare and important handwritten letter by the musical genius, discussing both his financial difficulties and a long-contemplated but never completed work,” said Bobby Livingston, executive VP for the auction house. Writing in German, Beethoven composed the letter to librettist Friedrich Treitschke, emphasizing money woes. It reads: “Many sacrifices I have willingly made and am making for the sake of my art.”In the letter dated September 24, 1815, Beethoven asks Treitschke to help him secure 200 gold ducats for their planned opera “Romulus und Remus.”A handwritten letter by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1815 is expected to sell for $300,000. He wrote: “Dear Tr.—do what you can to induce them to make other and more honorable conditions for me than the mere one evening’s receipts.”A handwritten letter by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1815 is expected to sell for $300,000.

Thousands of Christian pilgrims have taken part in Palm Sunday celebrations in Jerusalem at the start of the Holy Week.

Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority says it is backing down from a plan to encompass Christian holy sites on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives in a national park after vociferous outcry from major churches.

Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority on Monday said it was backing down from a contentious plan to encompass Christian holy sites on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives in a national park following vociferous outcry from major churches. The Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem rises above Jerusalem’s Old City and its sites are holy to three monotheistic faiths. The Armenian, Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches petitioned Israel’s environmental protection minister, whose department is in charge of the Parks Authority, in a letter last week.

For a second year, Christians in the Holy Land are marking Good Friday without the mass pilgrimages usually seen in the Holy Week leading up to Easter because of the coronavirus.