The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is Christianity’s most holy place. Here, on the site that marks Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, where we welcome more than a million pilgrims and visitors every year, it is heart breaking to close the door on even a single pilgrim or prevent anyone from entering this place of prayer. But we had to do this back in February of this year. The decision was not easy, but it was necessary.

The closure of the Church was an act of protest — a necessary stand against a mounting campaign of intimidation and discrimination that threatens the survival of Christianity in the Holy City.